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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



T H E 



KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 



FROM ITS INCEPTION UNDER JOSHUA, ITS FIRST PRESIDENT, 

IN THE YEAR OF THE WORLD 2553, TO THE 

SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST. 



CONSIDERED, FIRST: 

As typical under its first three heads, and the United States shewn to 
be the third and last of those heads, 

CONSIDERED, SECOND: 

As anti-typical, and the Confederate States shown to be the grand anti- 
type in its first appearance ; to ultimate in the "Throne of 
the Prince of the House of David " 



/ 

By J. P. PHILPOTT, 

MEXIA, TEXAS. 



A) 3 



7w' 



St. Louis, Mo.: 
ADVOCATE PUBLISHING HOUSE. 

LOGAN D. DAME RON, MANAGER. 
1880. 



<!h 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, 

By J. P. Philpott, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



DEDICATED 
TO THE MEMORY OF 

Rev. S. D. BALDWIN, 

Author of "Armageddon" tic. 



., .! I 



EXPLANATORY REMARKS. 



Notice has been given through the public press of my purpose to 
issue this fall a second edition, very much enlarged, of my work styled 
"The Kingdom of Israel." Since that notice, however, from 
financiaF~considerations, I have concluded not to issue the first volume 
(containing the substance of the first edition, enlarged and noted as 
part first, the second part being entirely new matter), but to issue only 
volume second, also in two parts, and await its reception, favorable or 
unfavorable, before determining, as to the first volume (which is rather 
heavy and expensive) , to throw the same upon the market. That the 
second volume of a work should be given to the public first would 
appear to be something new in this line of things, but the nature of 
the entire work is such that it might, with an arrangement to that 
end, appear to no disadvantage in several distinct volumes ; and each 
volume might be considered complete in itself, and not dependent upon 
any other one of the volumes — that is, not more so than any one of 
Paul's epistles was dependent upon any other one or more of his epis- 
tles. Therefore, any one reading this volume, that should never see 
the first volume of the work, will not feel like one who fails to get all 
the numbers of his magazine in which is being published a very inter- 
esting serial. I will let this small volume go forth under the title page 
just as the work first appeared in 1864, since it contains nothing but 
what strictly comes under the title page, except %t The Western Star 
of Empire " in its historic features, which goes beyond the rise of the 
Kingdom of Israel under Joshua, even to the garden of Eden ; but 
this prior historic matter, belonging to Israel, may not be out of place 
under such a title page. 

Mexia, Texas, June, 1880. 



\ 



PREFACE. 



The first of the two chapters of "The Western Star of Empire" was 
very hastily written thirteen years ago, and handed to a copyist without 
revision, and it now appears as first penciled, and is not at all what it 
should have been from the abundant Bible material at hand. The sub- 
iect has not had justice done it by us, and we simply add here that all 
the Western movements are God-ward in the Empire of Israel, and 
hence have ever been exalting, or elevating and advancing to the 
nation, while all of her Eastern movements have been into captivity 
and degredation. All of her various captivities have been to the nations 
immediate to the East of her, and hence all of her various deliver- 
ances and restorations have been in movements from the East to the 
West. This first chapter is purely historic. The second chapter, 
more recently written, is prophetic in its materials and comes down to 
a verification, in historic fulfillment, up to this hour, with the infant 
nation hid away in or under a despotism. 

We follow "The Western Star of Empire," as seen in its two chap 
ters, with an exhaustive exposition of the prophecy of Obadiah, as 
strictly applicable to the same, in chapters I, IV and V. And then the 
preface and exposition of the seals, trumpets and vials, arranged in 
chapters to itself, follow as part second of this small volume, No. 2. 



CONTENTS 



Part I. The Western Star or Empire, 

CHAPTER I. p A(m . 

Purely Historic, ......... 3 

CHAPTER II. 
Prophetic and Historic, ....... 14 

CHAPTER III. 
The Prophecy of Obadiah, .26- 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Prophecy of Obadiah, . 43- 

CHAPTER V. 
The Prophecy of Obadiah, . . . . . . . 49,, 



Part II. Seals, Trumpets and Vials of Revelation. 

CHAPTER I. PAGK . 

Introduction, . . . ...... 63 

Book of Revelation, 67 

CHAPTER II. 

The Seals, Trumpets and Vials of Revelation, . . 76- 

The First Seal, 77 

The First Trumpet, 79 

The Fir>t Vial, 8a 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. p AGE . 

The Second Seal, Trumpet and Vial, .... 82 

The Second Seal, ......... 82 

The Second Trumpet, ........ 82 

The Second Vial, . 8$ 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Third Seal, Trumpet and Vial, .... 85 

The Third Seal, . . . . . . . . 85 

The Third Trumpet, ........ 85 

The Third Vial, 86 

CHAPTER V. 

The Fourth Seal, Trumpet and Vial, .... 88 

The Fourth Seal, 88 

The Fourth Trumpet, « 89 

The Fourth Vial, . . . . . . . . . 89 

CHAPTER VI. 

The Fifth Seal, Trumpet and Vial, 100 

The Fifth Seal, 100 

The Fifth Trumpet, 103 

The Fifth Vial, 105 

The "Beast from the Pit," 106 

« 
CHAPTER VII. 

The Sixth Seal, Trumpet and Vial, 108 

The Sixth Seal, . 108 

Unclosing the Sixth Seal, . . . . . „ . 109 

Sealing or Marking of Israel's Tribal Host in Seal Sixth, . 114 
The Sixth Trumpet an Exponent of the Seal Six, . . .120 

The Little Book Episode, ....... 129 

Length of the One Thousand Two Hundred and Sixty Days 

of Sackcloth Teaching, . . . . . . . 137 

Length of Three and a Half Days, or Death Period of the Wit- 
nesses, ■. 138 

Sodom and Egypt, and Their Street, 139 

Indignity to and Rejoicing of the " Beast From the Pit" 

Over the Dead Israel of God, or the Two Witnesses, . . 141 

The Rise of the Two Witnesses, etc., 150 

Of Whom do the Sealed Israel, Seventh Chapter, Consist ? . 153 

The Sixth Vial, 157 



CONTENTS. » 

CHAPTER VIII. PAGB . 

The Seventh Seal, Trumpet and Vial, . . • . 163 

The Seventh Seal, or Third and Last Woe, • . . .163 

The Seventh Trumpet, ,163 

The Seventh Vial, . . , ^ . • . , 164 






PART I. 



THE WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 



THE WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE 



CHAPTER I. 

r 

PURELY HISTORIC. 

" Westward the course of empire takes its way, 
The first four acts already passed, 
The fifth shall close the drama with the day, • 
Time's noblest offspring is the last." 

Bishop Berkeley. 

We propose to change Bishop Berkeley's lines above, to 
make them harmonize with prophetic and historic utter- 
ances. 

u Westward the star of empire takes its way, 
The first four acts already passed ; 
The fifth and sixth will each demand a day, 
Time's noblest child — the seventh and last." 

This is not exactly the language of inspiration, but does 
not inspiration teach us that the " Star of Empire, " under 
the direction and sanction of God, has ever been from 
East to West, diverging to the right and left as she advances ? 
We think so. We learn in the very beginning of the pop- 
ulation of the earth, which looked, of course, to a univer- 
sal civil empire, as population should seem to necessitate 
organic civil fabrics, that its first settlement was declared to 
be " Eastward in Eden." Gen. ii, 8. That is, "Eden" was 
a country, known as such; a section of the earth with defi- 
nite limits, of East, West, North and South ; for " Eden " was 
a part only of the earth and stood as severed from all other 



4 WESTERN STAR OE EMPIRE. 

* 

parts, or as distinct in its definement with its proper meets 
and boundaries, and consequently had an eastern border 
and boundary, and, also, northern, southern and western 
ones ; and upon this eastern border was planted the " Garden 
of Eden " in which garden the first pair were placed. Mind 
you, the la?id or country of Eden was one thing and the gar- 
den was another, but within the former. And this garden 
or first settlement, being located " Eastward in Eden," has 
also its limits ; has its eastern and western, northern and 
southern boundaries, and, also, a point of entrance for its 
settlers to pass in at and take possession. And when God 
introduces them to their garden home, he does so through 
an Eastern gate and the only one the garden had, so far as 
we are informed. This garden being a type of the world^ 
the world, like it, is defined by the terms, East, West, North 
and South, and, like it, must have a beginning point for its 
settlement, from which it moves, not in radiating lines of 
population to every point of the compass, but in some 
given direction, radiating to the right and left; and this di- 
rection must have been East or West, for North or South it 
could not have been, since their frozen regions forbid the 
girdling of the globe with population in either one of these 
directions. East or West, therefore, it must have been 
with the liberty and law of radiation, North and South as far 
as climate would permit, and as to whether East or West the 
movement was to be made, we think there can be no contro- 
versy, since the only entrance to the type, or garden, was 
from the East, and if so the same is true of the earth. In 
other words, the eastern entrance, or gate of the garden, 
was the gate to the whole earth, for while, the garden was a 
type of the earth, yet was it also a part of the earth, and 
hence the gate of the type was the gate of her antitype, the 
world. 

As it is not directly asserted that the garden had but one 
gate, and that this one was in the East, it may be asked 



PUREL Y HISTORIC. 5 

why do we so assert? We answer that as " God placed at 
the East of the garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming 
sword to keep or guard the way to the tree of life," that 
this proves most satisfactorily that there was but one "way" 
to the tree, and that way was from the East, and hence the 
East only needed to be guarded. This we deem will suffice 
to establish the fact that the entrance to the garden was 
from the East, and that all of the garden was west of the 
line of the gate, and that God purposed thus to type the 
settlement of the earth by the sons of Seth, who is called 
the " Son of God," given in the room of Abel, whom Cain 
slew. As to Cain's branch of the family, they were never 
called the " Softs of God." 

Now mark ! As the land or country of Eden was the 
first defined land, as occupied by the human race, we con- 
clude that it was the purpose of heaven to first populate 
that country, and in the second place, as the settlement 
began " Eastward in Eden," as it multiplied and advanced 
it must advance towards the West; for if it moved East it 
would necessarily pass out of Eden into the land of Nod, 
or vagabondism, which bounded Eden on the East. Gen. 
iv, 1 6. This last supposed movement was most evidently 
not the purpose of Deity, for since He begins his settle- 
ment of man in a country designated " Eden," we gather 
from this that His purpose was to occupy with man that 
country first. To which land, as a whole, from the "gar- 
den " in the East, the population must go West, bearing 
North and South as it advances. The simple fact of Adam 
and Eve being thrust out of the garden does not change 
their locality as to the country, for they evidently settled 
themselves in the immediate vicinity of the garden. Hence 
we learn that a flaming sword guarded the gate of the gar- 
den to prevent their return to the same. If this sinning 
pair had dwelt elsewhere, there was no need of guarding 
the way to the tree of life. And in further evidence of the 



6 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

designs of God, that is His design, that the population out 
of which His civil empire was to arise and move on should 
be from East to West, we learn that when Cain, by his 
civil act of murder, forfeited his civil rights in the house- 
hold, he was rejected, cursed and sent Eastward into the 
adjoining land of Nod, thus separating the two households 
of elected and rejected seed; separating the cursed seed of 
Cain from the population out of whom God designed civil 
empire to arise. The cursed and rejected seed of Cain 
moves East, in his population, into the land of vagabond- 
ism, that could not expect civil empire under God, since 
none was promised, while " the Sons of God " or elected 
seed move West. Out of this cursed and rejected seed of 
vagabonds no civil empire, acknowledging God as their 
author, was ever to arise in the East, and none such has 
arisen ; while the uncursed seed of Seth, or " Sons of God,'* 
who was given a civil seed in the room of Abel, whom 
Cain slew, populated in their Eastern beginning, and, press- 
ing to the West, approach an empire not to be attained 
before the flood. Yet the movement West, in opposition 
to the rejected vagabond Eastward movement, clearly indi- 
cates that this Western tending seed was ultimately to take 
root in the West in empire. We shall see if this be correct. 
The flood coming in, cuts off the cursed and uncursed 
races of Cain and Seth, leaving only a reproducing seed 
in the house of Ham on the one hand, and the houses of 
Shem and Japheth on the other. The cursed seed of Cain,, 
in the person of Canaan, found in the house of Ham, was 
not now territorially separated from the seed of Shem and 
Japheth, but was cursed with bond-service to the races of 
Shem and Japheth, and thus joined (not united) to them as 
an inferior race. They are he?iceforth as servants, insepara- 
ble from the other two races. First, as bond-servants to Shem, 
out of whom civil empire was first to rise, and whom the 
scepter of empire passes into the hands of Japheth, then 



PURELY HISTORIC. 7 

Canaan was to be his servant. The family of man popu- 
lating after the flood, begins to move from East to West. 
Gen. ii, i, " And it came to pass as they journeyed from 
the East that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and 
dwelt, or settled, there." 

Thus in this second populating of the earth, as in the 
first, they move from th^ East to the West, as they increase.* 
The races, not now-separated territorially, as at the time Cain 
was cursed and sent East into the land of Nod, but kept to- 
gether as master and servant ; the one as civilly superior 
and the other as civilly inferior. This is enough to show 
the natural tendency under the law of God to move from 
any known center of beginning towards the West, as pop- 
ulation demands room for expansion ; and also to show 
the changed relationship between the cursed seed of Cain, 
in the house of Ham, and the uncursed seed, in the houses of 
Shem and Japheth. At first they were cursed as inferiors, 
and territorially separated by sending one East and the other 
West. But after the flood the curse of bond-service is fixed 
on the Cainites, and hence they remain with Shem and 
Japheth as servants. We notice in the further developed 
purpose of God to establish a civil empire tending West, 
that he separates Abraham, a son of Shem, to whom the 
promise was first made, from the rest of that family, for the 
express purpose of building up in him his designed, civil, 
organic body, sending him from Chaldea, due West 
into the land of Canaan. Gen. xii, 1-5. And Abraham 
takes with him in his journeyings west, his nephew, Lot, 
who, however, was not to form any part of the said em- 
pire ; and upon a difference between the herdmen or ser- 
vants of Lot, and those of Abraham, Abraham saw the 
necessity of separating himself from Lot, and magnani- 
mously gave to Lot the choice of departing to the right-hand 
or to the left, while he would necessarily take the opposite 



8 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

direction from that chosen by Lot. Abraham was called 
from the East to the West, and Lot, as was God's purpose 
in regard to the non-elected seed, " journeyed East," while 
Abraham, the elected seed, set his face to the West (Gen. 
xiii, 9-12), each one taking with him his legitimate bond- 
servants of the house of Ham. Thus again and again the 
elected seed of empire moves West, while Lot, the father of 
the Moabites and Ammonites — that ever represents central 
despotisms — moves East among the corrupt Sodomites. 
We follow this elected Abrahamic family, and after a time 
find in it again persons not designed to form a part of God's 
civil empire. He has twelve sons by Keturah, and also a 
son by Hagar, while in Sarah's only son, Isaac, did the 
election stand. Abraham's gentile children of civil bond- 
age — not personal bondage as slaves — must not be heirs 
with Isaac of civil things. Hence, we learn that a separa- 
tion in his family was necessary in order that the two seeds, 
the one superior and the other inferior, civilly considered, 
should not live together on terms of equality. 

Abraham had at this time very many bond-servants in 
his house; these he does not separate and send away from 
his son Isaac, for they were known not to be anything else 
than the servants of Isaac, and in no civil sense his asso- 
ciates or equals. While Isaac's numerous brethren by 
Keturah and Hagar were not servants, yet they were not 
Isaac's civil equals ; hence the necessity of separating them 
from Isaac, while the bond-servants remain in his family. 
Thus we learn in Gen. xxv, 6, that ''Abraham gave gifts 
unto his sons by the concubines, and sends them away from 
Isaac, his son, eastward into the East country" This neces- 
sitated Isaac's movement to the West, as his family ex- 
panded, showing most clearly that the civilly elected seed 
of empire, in every ins twee, move to the W T est, while the 
civilly rejected seed move to the East. Is not this remark- 



PUREL Y HISTORIC. 9 

able ? Who sq> blind as not to see design or purpose in 
these various movements of the rejected seed to the East, 
and the elected seed to the West ? 

We will now pass at once to the long-promised and ex- 
pected civil empire that arose under the God of heaven in 
the family of Abraham, a son of Shem. We find that the 
Israelites came to the borders of their land, promised to 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob on the East, and there, on their 
eastern border, on the East side of Jordan, "towards sun- 
rising," three tribes, or states, first settle as organic civil 
fabrics, viz. : Reuben, Gad and Manasseh ; and subse- 
quently, ten tribes or states pass over, from the East to the 
West, entering the promised land near its center from North 
to South, and from thence they move westward, conquering 
and occupying the land to the North and South until all the 
land of promise is organized into civil fabrics in severalty, 
as states, but one empire — one nation made up of a com- 
pany of nations. Thus " the nation " was " a company of 
nations " as promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

In going from Egypt to Canaan there was a much shorter 
and a far less difficult route of travel than the one adopted 
by Moses, who moved as God indicated; and by this 
shorter route the Red Sea, and the Jordan, both, would have 
been avoided, and also the hostile nations through which 
they passed, and would have brought the children of Israel 
to their southern instead of their eastern border, from which 
they could have gone on northward instead of westward in 
conquering and settling their land. .But this would not 
have served the purpose of God, for He designed that His 
"Star of Empire " should move from East to West. Hence, 
the people ; as a people inorganic, not a nation, must be 
brought by a very circuitous and very difficult route to the 
center of their eastern border; and here, in the East, to be- 
gin the founding and building of their empire, so that in 
progressing it might press to the West, radiating to the North 



10 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

and South, so as to embrace from the eastern beginning all 
the land of promise. 

Was there no purpose or design of Deity in all this ? 
Some one may undertake to say there was a good and suf- 
ficient reason why the Children of Israel should have been 
brought the difficult and indirect route of travel to the Jor- 
dan that they were, and not the one we have assigned, 
either. They will say that it was for the purpose of train- 
ing and educating them under Moses for the forty years in 
the wilderness, so that they should be thoroughly disciplin- 
ed and in every way ready to be organized into the national 
form promised to Abraham. They forget that after the short 
halt at Sinai, and the giving of the law, they move on 
directly and with some degree of celerity to the eastern 
border of their future home, and send out twelve men as 
spies to view out the land and make necessary observations 
preparatory to a formal and safe movement across the Jor- 
dan to take possession of the same; and the only reason 
why they did not then do so was rebellion on their part 
against their God, for which he then turned them back into 
the wilderness to wander and be wasted for forty years. 
God's purpose was to have put them in possession of their 
land at once, but they would not yield obedience to him, 
and hence the forty years, so-called " training in the wilder- 
ness," was a forty years wasting away of rebels. 

But again : since this Abrahamic, Shemitic empire, that 
arose on the Jordan, has passed away without accomplishing 
that which we have every reason to believe was God-de- 
signed, by organizing civil fabrics in His economy of gov- 
erning earth, may we not be — nay, are we not — compelled to 
receive this Shemitic empire as only a type or forerunner of 
the empire that was to arise under the enlarged Japheth, 
when or after Japheth took possession of or " dwelt in the 
tents of Shem ?" — ever remembering that Shem must cease in 
empire when Japheth was in possession of ShenCs tents, 



PUREL Y HISTORIC. 11 

and also bearing in mind that when Canaan became the 
servant of Japheth, he was no longer the servant of Shem ? 
And if the Shemitic empire that arose on the Jordan, was 
but a type of Japheth's superior empire, then the land of 
Palestine was as much a type as the nation that there arose 
and passed away. If so, Palestine was typical of nothing 
less than North America. 

I believe there is no diversity of opinion among promi- 
nent expositors as to the typical character of the Hebrew 
or Shemitic economy, and hence of the typical character 
of the land of Canaan. If the government was but a 
type, then her land was but a type; for land types land, 
as government types government; office types office, as 
kingdom types kingdom ; and priest types priest, and 
prophet types prophet. This is a rule from which there is 
vio departing, for we find that blood types blood, and sac- 
rifice types sacrifice, and so on, typing ever in kind of the 
after antitype, and never deviating from it. Then, are we 
not warranted in looking for a Japhetic confederate em- 
pire to arise in modern times, corresponding to its type in 
*he ancient Shemitic house ? To arise in the West — that is, 
west of her type in the Shemitic or Hebrew house ; and 
to arise in thirteen States, as the type arose in thirteen 
States ? And to arise or take root on the eastern border of 
her empire, as she did ? And taking root in the East, to 
press — as did her type — to the West, bearing North and 
South until she touches " the uttermost sea ? " We are not 
only warranted in looking for a Japhetic empire to arise in 
the West in modern times, marked as above indicated, but 
we are compelled to do so ! or else never to expect the bless- 
ing pronounced by Noah upon Japheth to be realized, as 
no one will claim that Japheth's blessing as the successor 
of Shem was or could have been met under the Shemitic 
economy. And have we not in modern times, in answer 
to the major demands of prophecy, the history " known 



12 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE, 

and read of all men " of a confederate empire of thirteen 
States, arising under God, of Japhetic blood, in the west, 
senttout from the east? And arising first — in point of 
time — as did the ancient type on the eastern border of her 
territory, she has gone out westward, bearing North and 
South, a " Star of Empire" from her thirteenth beginning, 
to a number now not definitely known to the writer, in her 
disrupted condition. 

From her eastern origin and her later eastern beginning 
in " 76," she has necessarily tended Westward, until the 
shores of " the uttermost sea " is populated with her sons 
of progress. And from the Pacific shores she is stretch- 
ing out her sounding lines to the "isles of the sea," and 
will eventually, on and on to the West, till the wilds of 
Asia are subdued and brought in, and on to her ancient 
starting place as a type on the Jordan, and thence west- 
ward to her own eastern border and beginning in 1776, as 
the grand antitype and realization of ail that was promised 
of civil empire to Abraham and his seed, or the " sons of 
faith." But to arrive at this grand major, held out by the 
hand of ancient prophecy, we shall have to consider a 
sequel to the whole prior and minor fulfillment of prophecy. 
That is, there is a minor and major fulfillment in the Japhetic 
empire of 1776, while the Japhetic empire is the anti- 
type or major of Shem's, who was minor. There must be 
a grand successor or major and final step that leads to a 
culmination " of all that was promised of civil empire to 
the seed of faithful Abraham." To this grand finale we 
shall now address our consideration, for since the Japhetic 
empire that arose in 1776 has been sadly disturbed and 
*" divided against herself " we are compelled to look for 
another point in the realization of the promises to the 
ancient fathers. i( Divided she has faVen! f She is not zvhat 
she was, and has been, since her beginning in " 76." So to 
" reconstruct " or re-confederate, as we first confederated 



PUREL Y HISTORIC. 13. 

under the starting out in " 76," we must have a starting 
place in time and in locality. And as " the Western Star 
of Empire" has ever been from eastern beginnings to west- 
ern culminations, we are warranted in looking for an east- 
ern beginning of the empire of Japheth in its sequence or 
major final. For this we shall not look in vain, for true to 
her established law of ever beginning on the eastern bor- 
der of her territory to found an empire, we find her in 1861 
laying the first foundation stone near the center of her ex- 
treme Eastern border — "extreme Eastern border" of the ter- 
ritory out of which the confederate compact in building. 
West was to arise. It began in South Carolina and ran 
west until Texas, the extreme western or 7th stone, was 
built in. And this formed, the "seven-stoned," or "seven- 
horned" empire stood forth as the sequel in its beginning 
of the Japhetic antitypical " Western Star of Empire." 
This necessary new beginning of the Japhetic antitypical; 
empire of God, and its ultimate triumphs over all previous 
empires, is given us in various prophecies in a more or less 
complex form, some short and concise, and others prolix 
and intricate, and to the uninitiated unintelligible; but 
perhaps in no place more plainly and forcibly set forth or 
in fewer words than in the prophecy of Obadiah. 

But before we take up the prophecy of Obadiah we will 
consider one of the most thrilling and eloquent utter- 
ances, taken as a whole, that is to be found in the Bible,, 
and having direct reference — in its last division — to our 
" latter-day" Israel, last above noticed. By consulting 
chapters xxii, xxiii and xxiv of Numbers, the whole history. 
of the prophecy will be found. 



14 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 



CHAPTER II. 

PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 

Balak, the King of Moab, in this prophecy, is evidently 
a representative character as a king of despotisms or cen- 
tralized governments, and stands as at war with the Israel- 
itish theory of government, hence his opposition to the 
founding of the Israelitish empire. Such a form of govern- 
ment had not as yet been known on earth. None, save 
such as Nimrod had founded at Babylon, as the father of 
all subsequent centralized governments, had existed ; and 
now that God is about to found an anti-centralized nation, 
Balak, as a representative character, becomes alarmed for 
centralized governments. " He had seen all that Israel had 
done to the Amorites, and similar nations to that of Moab, 
and he was sore afraid of the people of Israel, because they 
were many, and he was distressed because of the Children 
of Israel. And he said unto his elders, now shall this com- 
pany lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh 
up the grass of the field." — Numbers, chapter xxii. Here 
this representative of centralism is shown to be greatly 
*' distressed and sore afraid " for his form of government. 
Not only for his own government of Moab, but for all sim- 
ilar governments, for he says : " Now shall this company 
lick up all the nations that are round about us, as the ox 
licketh up the grass of the field." He saw in the establish- 
ment of this non-centralized government, the inevitable 
overthrow of king's dominion over the people. He trem- 
bled at the idea of a government, whose people, as individ- 



PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 15 

uals, were the sovereigns, and as such would order the 
government so as to result in the greatest good to the 
greatest numbers, and whose executive officers were the 
servants of the people and not the people the servants of 
despots, as in the case of Moab and all similar governments. 
In alarm and great haste, with rewards of divination in 
their hands, he sends messengers to the prophet, Balaam, 
to come and curse this dreaded people of Israel, for he said 
he knew that whomsoever Balaam would bless was blessed, 
and that whomsoever he should curse would be cursed. 
Balaam comes and Balak took him up to a high place, that 
from thence he might see the utmost of Israel. And see- 
ing them he says: " How shall I curse whom God hath 
not cursed ; or, how shall I defy whom God hath not de- 
fied ? For from the top of the rocks I see Him and from the 
hills 1 behold Him. Lo ! the people shall dwell alone and 
shall 11 t be reckoned among the nations" 

And why not " reckoned among the nations ? " Because 
all other nations are centralized nations, and are by the 
representative nations of centralism in Daniel numbered 
one, two, three and four, and being sub-divided at different 
times are numbered from one to ten variously. And com- 
mentators and expositors have erroneously numbered the 
stone kingdom of Daniel, " cut out of the mountain with- 
out hands," as number five, following Nebuchadnezzar's 
kingdom, number four, as if the stone kingdom set up by 
the God of heaven, should be numbered or " reckoned " 
among the centralized nations of Balak. Balaam says 
above, that Israel shall not be reckoned among the nations 
of whom Moab was a type. This vision of prophecy, as 
cited above, we hold as referring directly to the Israel then 
and there about to arise under Joshua as its first president, 
but as that Israel was typical, and as such passed away 
after a five hundred years' reign, a new organization takes 
place under David as Judah's head. Now to this second 



16 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE, 

Israel the second vision has direct reference. Balak takes, 
the prophet to another place from whence he was not to 
see them so clearly as at the first vision. They were re- 
mote in point of time and he sees them not in full but only 
in part and proceeds to bless them, saying: " God hath not 
beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel, the 
Lord his God is with him and the shout of a king is among 
them. ,, This refers to David as the king who organ- 
ized this second kingdom. Saul was the first and last king, 
under the first Israel and was rejected of God as not being 
his king, while David was his king and after his own heart : 
" Behold the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up- 
himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eat 
of the prey and drink the blood of the slain." This lion 
and king character fastens this vision of prophecy to the 
kingdom of Israel under David. 

Balak, failing of his purpose to have the first and second 
Israels cursed, takes his prophet to yet another high place, 
that, peradventure, centralism may by its persistency suc- 
ceed in overcoming Israel. Balaam this time set his face 
toward the wilderness country of North America, and be- 
held Israel abiding in his tents according to his tribes, and 
he cries out, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy 
tabernacles, O Israel ; as the valleys are they spread abroad, 
as gardens by the river's side ; as the trees of living aloes,, 
which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the 
waters. He shall eat up the nations, his enemies, and shall 
break their bones and pierce them through with his arrows ; 
he couched ; he lay down _ as a lion and as a great lion. 
Who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and 
cursed is he that curseth thee." 

Foiled for the third time Balak's anger was kindled 
against the prophet and he orders him to flee to his place,, 
but Balaam has an important prophecy to utter as the 
mouth of God before he leaves Balak, and not evited there- 



PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 17 

to by Balak, and carried to some high place as in the other 
cases, but while Balak is urging him to flee his presence he 
holds his place in his presence, and voluntarily and un- 
asked, says to Balak : "Come, I will notify thee before I 
leave what this people shall do to thy people in the latter 
day." That is, I will tell thee, Balak, as the representative 
of despotisms, what such governments as Israel's is shall do 
to all centralized or despotic governments. And having 
taken up his parable, he then said : "I shall see him, but 
not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh ; there shall 
come a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Is- 
rael and shall smite the corners of Moab (centralism) and 
destroy the children of Sheth (centralism), and Edom 
(centralism) shall be a possession; Seir also, as others, shall 
be a possession for his enemies, and Israel shall do val- 
iantly. Out of Jacob shall He come that shall have the 
dominion over centralism, and shall destroy him that 
remain eth of the city" of centralism. 

That the three preceding utterances of Balaam have 
reference to the three first heads of Israel, under the typical 
dispensation, seems quite evident, as the term " latter days" 
does not attach to them, but only to the fourth or after 
prophecy, which was delivered, not by request of Balak, 
nor preceded as the three first were by formal and prelim- 
inary sacrifices, but after Balak's anger was kindled against 
him and he ordered to flee from his presence, which, how- 
ever, Balaam did not do until he had voluntarily uttered 
this most remarkable prophecy of the " latter days," in 
which Christ or the Star of Jacob's scepter was to arise 
and smite Moab in all of its corners and take possession of 
the whole Moabitish and Edomitish centralized kingdoms 
that are enemies to theocratic Israel, declaring that "He 
shall come that shall have the dominion and shall destroy 
€very remains of central despotism," as we understand it. 

A star more commonly has reference to persons as 



18 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

princes or civil rulers, and scepter refers to the nations or 
governments under their administrations ; hence the " Star '* 
here has reference to Christ as the prince and " scepter " 
to Israel as a civil body organic, not then existing as such. 
The people inorganic were then before the prophet and 
moving forward to take possession of their patrimony pre- 
paratory to their organization as a nation or *' scepter ,,! 
under a "star" or civil prince. 

The kingdom of Israel beisg a theocracy, or acknowledg- 
ing God as its only absolute sovereign, ever held its reigning 
prince or king, as God's vicegerent. After the rejection of 
Saul and the election of David to the throne of Israel, the 
reigning kings were always called the sons of David and 
said to sit upon David's throne; and when Christ, as the 
Star of Israel or Son of David, was promised to His 
mother, it was said that " the Lord God should give unto- 
Him the throne of His father David, and that He should 
reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom 
there was to be no end." And this is the " scepter " or 
kingdom that Balaam said would arise or grow up out of 
Israel, and Christ as the "Star" or prince of the same, that 
was to smite and utterly destroy Edom, or all governments 
not theocratic. The scepter or government was not to> 
arise elsewhere and then invade Esau, but was to arise out 
of Israel, here called Esau; or Israel, corrupted into a des- 
potism and arising in or growing up out of Israel corrupted 
into a Sodom, was to smite and utterly destroy Edom. 

But since Christ, on his first advent, had not the throne 
of his father David given to him — though declared to be 
"born King of the Jews" — we must regard the then ful- 
fillment of the prophecy in reference to the Star of Jacob 
in its minor and not its major features ; and we are war- 
ranted in looking for the major fulfillment of all such proph- 
ecies to the future — 'hat is after the birth of Christ. And 
in looking for the tokens of the advent of the major reali- 



PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 19 

zations we must lay hold of every available indication of 
the same. And as we have, as we apprehended, some- 
thing very marked and to the point growing out of the 
visit of the wise men from the East to Jerusalem in search 
of the "Star of Jacob," or him that was "born King of the 
Jews," we will now call attention to the same. Do not 
forget that we are treating of " the Star of Empire " in the 
West. The luminous body called a "Star " that guided the 
wise men from the East to Jerusalem was in the West and 
not in the East as is commonly supposed ; for if the wise 
men were from a country to the east of Jerusalem, as is 
asserted, then, of necessity they must have traveled West 
to arrive at Jerusalem, and being guided by the star in its 
going before them, then, of necessity it was West of 
them, and moving westward it led them to Jerusalem. The 
expression, " we have seen his star in the East," does not 
import that in looking eastward they had seen the star, but- 
just the reverse, and might more correctly be rendered 
something like this: We, the dwellers in the East, have, in 
looking West, seen His Star and are come West from our 
East country to worship Him. This, we suppose, no one 
can call in question, as it would be utterly impossible for 
the Star to be in the East, and moving East to lead the 
wise men to the West. The men dwelt to the East of Je- 
rusalem, and led by a westward-moving star they are 
brought to Jerusalem. 

Thus far in our investigations of the " Western Star of 
Empire " all the movements have been West, and this last 
movement of the Star West has brought us, with the 
wise men, to "the city of the Great King." And right here 
in this city of the Great King we would most certainly ex- 
pect to find this Great King of the Jews, but not so. 

The star that had led the wise men from the East to 
Jerusalem disappears on their arrival at the city and they 
are left in uncertainty as to where the young king was. 



20 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

They doubtless supposed him to be in the city, since the 
star had led them thus far and then disappeared ; seem- 
ingly indicating that he was in the city and its mission 
ended. But not so, as we shall see in the sequel. We 
know not how long the wise men in their bewilderment 
wandered about the city making inquiries of those they 
chanced to meet, saying : " Where is He that is born King 
of the Jews ? " Assuring them that He must be here, for 
"we have seen His Star in our Eastern home, and led by 
it we are come to worship Him." These things coming to 
the ears of Herod, he summoned his council and de- 
manded of them where Christ should be born, and they 
inform him: "Not in Jerusalem but in Bethlehem of Judea," 
and he in turn informs the wise men, and they then set 
their faces toward the South, for Bethlehem was directly 
south of Jerusalem. Now the very interesting and no less 
important question arises: Why should the guiding star 
lead the wise men to Jerusalem first, rather than to Bethle- 
hem, where the young king really was ? This is a question 
any thougtful person would ask. The expectations of the 
wise men on beholding the city of the Great King, from 
the heights of Olivet, must have been wrought up to the 
highest degree, since guided by the star to Jerusalem, 
they felt quite sure that now they were about to realize the 
cherished object of their long journey. But they are doomed 
to disappointment, for the star disappears from them and 
they are left to wander about the city, asking, "Where is 
He that is born King of the Jews ?" They might be sup- 
posed to say, " We cannot be mistaken as to His being in 
the city, for guided by His Star we are here, and the star 
leaving us after it had conducted us thus far, we conclude 
therefrom that the new born king must be in the city. ,, 
They are, however, given to understand that they are mis- 
taken. 

Then, did the divine hand that led them to Jerusalem 



PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 21 

purpose to deceive them, and if not, why then did it 
not lead them direct to Bethlehem where the young king 
was ? The divine hand never deceives those who seek and 
serve Him, and the " why " he did not lead them direct to 
Bethlehem is now manifest, but could not have been until 
modern times, by the development of* prophetic history. 
Prophetic history must be written so as to harmonize with 
its after fulfillment. And as in this " latter day" develop- 
ment or fulfillment of the promises to the house and throne 
of David, or, if you please, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 
the movements from Eastern beginnings to Western cul- 
minations have been so changed that from the last beginning 
in the East m 1776, and the grand and majestic move- 
ment to the West, does not lead to a Western culmina- 
tion but instead turns South from the point of anticipated 
culmination at Jerusalem to Bethlehem as the true or real- 
izing scepter to be swayed by the prince indicated by the 
star of the wise men and Balaam. Here we are certified 
of that very important fact and change. It teaches most 
emphatically: First, that while the empire of the w Star of 
Jacob," that Balaam saw "afar off" was strictly -a. Western 
one, as evidenced by the movement of the star of the wise 
men from the East to Jerusalem in the West, as the capi- 
tal of the nation — but secondly, or the second movement 
of the star being from Jerusalem South to Bethlehem — it 
teaches that the scepter or nation of the prince culminates 
or meets realization in the Southern Division of the Western 
Empire of 1776, first pointed out by the star in its move- 
ment West. It is not in so many words said that the star 
disappeared after guiding the wise men to Jerusalem, but it 
is clearly inferable from the fact that they seem to become 
bewildered and seek for the young king, not by following 
the star, but by making inquiry of those they met in their 
wanderings about the city, and very certainly from the fact 
that when they turn to the South, "lo, the star which 



22 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

they saw in the East went before them till it come and 
stood over where the young child was." 'Twas the ab- 
sence of the star that gave rise to the seeming necessity of 
making the inquiries that they did, and now that their un- 
erring guide reappears they move on in joyful haste and 
confident expectation to the city of the new born king, 
not to say again il where is he " in uncertainty, but pass at 
once without hesitancy or doubt to the cradle in the man- 
ger over which the stay rested. 

Now is it not as manifest as the noonday sun that 
Balaam saw Christ as the *' Scar " that was to arise out of 
Jacob in " the last days " and saw the nationality of Israel 
as the " scepter " that this star was to sway? And he 
saw these facts before the nation took organic form in 
Canaan under its first head. He saw it over 3,372 years 
before the things prophesied should occur. He saw it not 
in the first Israel then and there about to arise, for that he 
saw in the first of his utterances, nor yet in his second and 
third visions, which refer to the second and third organic 
Israels that arose not in the " latter days." 

The things that he saw concerning the star and scepter of 
Israel were " not nigh," nor " now," but very far off and in 
" the time of the end " That the star the wise men 
saw and followed to the West but pointed and led to the 
star that Balaam saw can hardly be questioned. And as 
the star that led the wise men to Jerusalem could not point 
to a prince and nation then existing is certain, for they 
were Roman and despotic, but rather to a prince and na- 
tion yet to come, so we must look beyond that period for 
a prince and scepter. The prince and scepter then exist- 
ing was Roman and was in no sense Israelii ish but des- 
potic. The star of the wise men, just as the Star of 
Balaam, was prophetic and pointed to a coming prince, 
and of necessity to a coming nation or scepter, for a prince 
always presupposes a nation or scepter stayed by him; 



PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 23 

hence we are compelled to look into the future from the visit 
of the wise men for the prince and scepter, for neither arose 
at the time the wise men visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. 
Therefore, at some future time to the coming of the wise 
men to the two cities named, we may expect a Christian 
scepter and prince to arise in the West and to have two 
facts or marks to distinguish them. The first to be strictly 
Western and non -realizing or typical, as is indicated by the 
the star first coming West to Jerusalem, but not finding 
its answering star, or prince, at the capital of the nation, 
the nation must be regarded as not the true Israel, but be 
held as typical, since the true prince was not there. The 
then scepter and prince of Jerusalem being Roman are not 
to be regarded as Israels, notwithstanding we had reason 
to expect it was, since the leadings of the star to that point 
would seem to indicate. That an Israel and its prince had 
once been there seems quite certain by the star first coming 
there, but they had eeasedto be Israels, prince and scepter, 
and was rather a prince and scepter of despotism ; and 
this being so, the star on coming disappears as not being 
appropriate where and when despots rule. " True, O 
King," there is nothing despotic in the true Israels of God, 
and if God's Israel and its princes from 1776 and on held 
court there, they must now be sought elsewhere in this same 
Western Empire, and the " elsewhere " is indicated by the 
guiding star of the wise men. It does not lead them out 
of the Israel of the West, or United States, for the guiding 
there was correct, but finding not the prince in the capital 
of the West, it seeks and finds the true prince in the South, 
for Bethlehem lay to the South of Jerusalem, and of her 
it had been said, " thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art 
not the least among the Princes of Judah, for out of thee 
shall come a governor that shall rule my people, Israel." 

The " Governor " that Micah saw as the promised ruler 
of Israel is identical with the " Star " or prince that Ba- 



•I t WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

laam saw would sway the scepter of the same people in " the 
latterdays," and of this, we suppose, there can be no question. 
But as Christ did not sway any such scepter as that of an- 
cient Israel, it follows inevitably that the prophecy of Micah 
must be transferred to an Israel that was to arise in "the 
latter days" as seen by Balaam nearly three thousand four 
hundred years before it was to occur, while Micah, seven 
hundred and forty-four years after Balaam, saw the very 
same facts in all of its detailed fulfillments. 

Now there is not one competent or critical expositor of 
prophecy that will claim even a partial realization in ancient 
Israel of the demands of these two prophecies, and if not, 
then it is evident we must look to modern Israel of the 
West for their fulfillment, and in looking it is not at all nec- 
essary to expect to witness the advent of Christ as the Kingly 
Son of his father David, to appear in all of his regal splendor 
as a conqueror coming up from Edomor Rome with stained 
garments, or garments rolled in blood, for the wise men 
found Him not as a conqueror at Bethlehem, but rather as 
a new born infant in his swaddling-bands, encradled and 
under the necessity of fleeing or hiding lest he should have 
been destroyed by Herod or Rome. Now if the " Star " or 
new born prince that was to sway the scepter of Israel or 
Judea was thus circumstanced then it follows that " latter 
day ' Israel, that is to accomplish so much under her prince 
here bespoken, must be found to be in its incipiency or birth 
in a no 7nore favorable condition than her designed king was 
at his birth. This is logical and undeniable; therefore in or 
within modern Israel of the West, we may — nay, we must — 
expect the birth of a Judean or Southern Bethlehemic Is- 
rael, as helpless as new born infancy — and as fleeing or hid- 
ing herself in Egypt or Rome. As to her national exist- 
ence, she must not die, for her young prince did not die, 
but only fled and took shelter under a despotism in Egypt. 
Therefore the nation, by coersion or of necessity, must be 



PROPHETIC AND HISTORIC. 25- 

merged or hid away in centralized or despotic Rome "for 
a time" of "three and a half days," for at the end of 
that — to us unknown — time she is to hear the voice of her 
God saying, " come up hither," and they in answer to the 
call of God, " ascend up to Hjaven," or attain unto the 
highest possible elevation as a nation ; and her enemies, 
or Rome, to whom she is now in bondage, shall " see " but 
not be able to prevent her exaltation. May it i ot be said 
" that he that runs may read," or understand, so manifest is 
the application to historic fulfillment to the time of " flee- 
ing " or hiding away, and the remainder will inevitably 
follow. 



26 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE, 



. CHAPTER III. 

THE PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 

The prophecy of Obadiah, though consisting of only 
twenty-one verses, is, perhaps, minor in importance to no 
other prophecy that has reference to " modern Israel " and 
modern times. For, that "Israel," ecclesiastically and civilly, 
is the leading and absorbing theme of all the prophets none 
will deny who have given the subject thoughtful attention, 
and those prophecies which refer to Christ or other persons, 
speak of them only as they stand cowiected with God's Israel 
in Church and State. 

" Israel after the flesh " — that is, national Israel — an 1 spir- 
itual Israel were those to whom the " oracles of God" 
were addressed and delivered, and it will be borne in mind 
that no part of the written word, or oracles of God, was 
given to man until " Israel after the flesh," or the family of 
Jacob, in the year of the world 2,513, under the leadership 
of Moses, set out from the land of bondage to the land of 
Canaan. Then it was, and to that people, begun to be de- 
livered the written oracles of God. True, many of the 
prophecies are addressed to the various gentile nations, as 
Babylon, Edom, Egypt, Nineveh, Moab, etc., and also have 
reference to them, but to them as the enemies of God's 
Israel, and though " addressed " to said nations " as the 
•enemies" of Israel, they were not delivered to them, but were 
delivered to those of the circumcision only, who were the 
only repositories of the sacred books. Hence we say that 
this short prophecy of Obadiah was both addressed and 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 27 

committed to the Israelites, notwithstanding there is very 
much iti it that has reference to " Esau or Edom," as the 
common symbols of all heathen nations, but only refers to 
them as the enemies of Israel. 

We propose to examine this prophecy and to show that 
it has direct reference to matters and things belonging to 
modern or "latter day Israel," or " the Western Star of 
Empire." And it also necessarily refers to her enemies, sym- 
bolically designated " Esau," " Edom," " Teman," " Ca- 
naanites," etc., for if the terms "Jacob," " Judah," "Jerusa- 
lem," <; Zion," etc., are not to be received as literal, and as 
such, applicable to the ancient household of God, but 
rather to be received as symbolic designations of the Israel 
that was to arise in " the last days," neither can the terms 
" Esau," " Edom," " Teman," " Canaanites," etc., found in 
the prophecy, be received in any other light than that of 
symbols or figures of modern heathen nations, or anti- 
Israeliies. By " modern heathen nations " we do not 
mean " heathen " according to the common acceptation of 
that term, but simply as a term of gentilism as opposed to 
the term " Israel" — that is, by the term " modern Israel," we 
mean all true, theocratic, democratic, republican, states" right 
confederacies. For such was the ancient household, and if so 
such must be the modern household, to be entitled to the 
appellation of " Israel." And this being so, all nations that 
-are not " theocratic, democratic, republican, states' right 
confederacies," are heathen, or gentile, in the character of 
their government. And if this prophecy under consideration 
did not meet with fulfillment in the days of ancient Israel — 
and I suppose no one is so mad as to say that it did — then 
we must look to " modern times" for its realization; and in 
treating the subject we shall consider the terms " Esau," 
" Edom," " Teman," " Canaanites," etc., being designations 
of ancient gentile nations as only now symbolic or figura- 
tive of modern gentilism, in theory and practice. In 



28 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

short, of " Edom " and its kindred appellations in this 
prophecy, we understand them all as symbols of modern 
monarchy or centralized nations, since they were the desig- 
nations of ancient monarchy, or governments of a central 
and consolidated caste, and as such opposed to the Israel- 
itish states' right confederate form instituted by God. 
With these preliminary remarks, we will at once take up 
the prophecy: First, by copying carefully from the com- 
mon version any portion that we may select, and then to 
make such remarks and comments as we may deem 
proper. 

THE PROPHECY. 

The vision of Obadiah : " Thus saith the Lord God con- 
cerning Edom." That is, " concerning " modern central- 
ism, of which " Edom " is but the symbol. This vision, 
then, is " concerning " monarchy in general, and not of any 
one particular centralized government. It is the theory in 
practice, whether professed as the " theory " or not, that is 
here under consideration. In other words, the practical 
workings of the government determines what theory it 
rests and runs upon. It may profess to be a states' rights? 
confederate theory, while its practical workings show it to 
be anything else. Professedly it may be an " Israel," but 
practically, it may be a very " Sodom." So we will read as 
follows, viz.: " Thus saith the Lord God concerning practi- 
cal Edom," or centralism, and hope the reader will bear in 
mind, while we further quote and discuss the prophecy, that 
it was spoken concerning practical centralism. 

" We have heard a rumor from the Lord, and an em- 
bassador is sent among the heathen, concerning whom the 
vision speaks." That is, an ill-omened rumor concerning 
centralized governments had been heard and an embassa- 
dor, or agency from the Lord, had been sent among those 
heathen Edomites to execute the things that " rumor from 
the Lord" had spoken concerning her. Evil to " Edom," 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 29 

or the heathen as here called, is evidently intended by the 
foregoing, and that that follows makes it quite manifest, viz. : 
" Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle." That 
is, let war, or " battle," be waged against Edom ; let her 
become environed and then overthrown and desolate. (See 
49th of Jeremiah from the 7th to 2 2d verses inclusive for 
an almost verbatim prophecy.) And now for the results of 
the " battle," or war upon Edom. 

Verse 2 : " Behold, I have made thee small among the 
heathen— thou art greatly despised." This last is spoken in the 
past tense, yet evidently future. It is to be thus with Edom 
when this " battle," or war, shall have been waged upon her. 
The prophecy always looks to the future for the fulfillment of 
the matters of fact that are sometimes mentioned as having 
passed. This mode of speaking in the past tense of things 
yet to be accomplished is so very common in the Scrip- 
tures that Bible students need not be cited to the fact. We, 
in our language, would write the passage thus : " Behold, I 
will make thee small." Thus, the war begins upon Edom 
that is not to end until " all the heathen " are " utterly con- 
sumed" and Japheth's empire, thus enlarged, absorbs the 
whole. Next, we notice the character of Edom as one of 
" pride," and then her great strength according to her own 
estimation. 

Verse 3 : "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, 
thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation 
is high; that saith in his heart, who shall bring me down 
to the ground ? " The answer to this boasting question of 
" pride " is (verse 4) : " Though thou exalt thyself as the 
eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence 
will I bring thee down, saith the Lord." This overthrow 
is to be of God, brought about by his providence, through 
human agencies, for thus is he to be brought down. But 
to what depths he is to be brought we next learn from 
what follows : 



30 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

Verse 5 : "If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, 
would they not have stolen till they had enough ? If the 
grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave some- 
grapes ? " It is quite reasonable to suppose that they 
would, and thus leave some vestige of hope for the future- 
Something would thus be left by the " thieves and robbers" 
upon which to lean, and out of which to build up again. 
Recuperation were possible if " some grapes were left " — 
if some foundation, however small, upon which to build, 
But woe, Edom ! " How art thou cut off! " 

Verse 6 : " How are the things of Esau searched out ? 
How are his hidden things sought up ? " 

Verse 7 : "All the men of thy confederacy have brought 
thee even to the border — of destruction. The men that 
were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed 
against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound 
under thee; there is none understanding in him." 

How utterly desolate is modern centralism to become, 
left without a single grape-seed for future propagation: 
And what has been the means or chief agency in this over- 
throw of " Esau." the brother of Jacob ? Ans. " All the 
men of thy confederacy have contributed largely to this 
result, for they have brought thee even to the border of 
destruction; and the men that were at peace with thee 
have deceived thee in this thing; and they that eat iky 
bread, or have been fed at thy crib, ha,ve laid a wound 
under thee ; and all this because there was no understand- 
ing in thee." Thou hast departed from the law of the 
Lord and hast sought those of " familiar spirits," that 
peep and mutter," " that whisper out of the ground," that 
are " righteous overmuch," that are "wise about that 
which is written," that " bind heavy burdens and lay 
them upon men's shoulders, but will not so much as touch 
them with one of their fingers," that sayeth " I thank God I 
am not as other men; I fast twice a week and pay tithes 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 31 

on all I possess, " and then exact four-fold from every one 
else. Monarchial principles are here represented as con- 
federated together, and in this confederation there is that 
which will prove disastrous to Edom, the elder or prior 
head of Israel, who is one in this confederacy, and bring 
her to the border of destraction. They are self-" deceivers/' 
and lay a deadly " wound " under themselves, as well as 
under Edom in general, with whom they are confederate. 

In Rev. xvi, 12, 13, 14, when the subject in preparation 
of the total and final overthrow of the enemies of God's 
dual Israel is being presented under the sixth vial, we 
learn that " three unclean spirits," called " the spirits of 
devils," came out of the mouths of three creature desig- 
nations of centralism, and went forth with miracles, with. 
which, as we understand it, they deceived the kings, whose 
agents they were, and thus "gathered them to the battle 
of that great day of God Almighty," when and where un- 
der the Seventh Seal they were overthrown on the pouring 
out of the Sevtnth Vial. And just so, here in this prophecy, 
of the confederate Edomites, or "kings of the whole 
earth," being " deceived, 5 ' are tempted to measure swords 
with God's dual Israel and are forever " cut off." We 
pass on to verses 8 and 9 : "Shall I not in that day,'' — 
that great day of God Almighty — " saith the Lord, even 
destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out 
of the Mount of Esau ? — (Esau is Edom) — and thy mighty 
men, O Teman — synonymous with Esau and Edom — 
shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the Mount 
— (government] — of Esau may be cut off by slaughter." 
(Teman or Temanites was a common name of the Edo- 
mites.) Here it is too manifest to be doubted that it was 
for want of " understanding," or the lack of " wise men " 
in the government of this Modern Edom, that they became 
" dismayed to the end that " the purposes of God might be 
fulfilled in the "slaughter of every one of the Mount of 



32 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

Esau, " or centralized nations in confederation. They 
know not the law of God, but must be " a law unto them- 
selves, " to the end that they may be cut oft in their self- 
deception and wickedness. And wherefore this utter extir- 
pation of this Edomitish confederacy of modern times? 
The answer is to be. found in verse 10 and on. " For thy 
violence against thy bro t her Jacob, shame shall cover thee, 
and thou shalt be cut off.' 1 His sin then, for which this 
modern Edom must suffer, is his " violence against his 
brother Jacob." of like modern date. " Mark well." When 
was this " violence " committed by modern Esau upon his 
modern brother Jicob ? Aas verse n. ist, " In the day 
that thou stoodest on the other side." " The other side" 
is opposed to Israel or to republican states' rights, and 
hence must be on the side of Israel's enemies ; that is, on 
the side of consolidation or centralism, and hence in 
confederation practically with European monarchy. 
Ans. 2nd " In the day that the s rangers carried away 
captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, 
and cast lots upon Jerusalem." "Strangers and foreigners," 
verse n, were those that were not of the family of Abra- 
ham as Jacob and Esau was, for Esau was a twin brother 
to Jacob, and hence a " foreigner" was one not of the 
circumcision household, while Esau or Edom, though not 
an Israelite — for Jacob's house alone was called " Israel" — 
yet was he in fact the twin brother of Jacob. So, that in 
discussing or considering this prophecy in its application 
to modern times, we must be careful to regard " Edom," 
though a symbol of monarchy, yet as the " elder" brother 
of Jacob, and hence as the " birthright son, " and as hav- 
ing sold his birthright or right of civil headship of the 
house to his younger brother Jacob. 

Mark well these facts for they are of prime importance in 
a modern point of view. Esau was the " elder," and, as 
such, was entitled under the law to the civil headship and 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 33 

honors of the household on and after the death of his father 
Isaac. But he, it is said, " despised his birthright and sold 
it for a mess of pottage." So that when Isaac died Jacob, 
though the younger, became the civil head of the house- 
hold. Thus Jacob became the " elected " and blessed of 
God civilly, while Esau became the rejected in the same 
sense, for neither one or the other was elected or rejected 
in any other than a civil sense. And if this prophecy in its 
major or more essential features never met with realization 
in the histories of the ancient householders of Edom and 
Israel, we are of necessity compelled to look into the future 
(from their day) for a fulfillment of the same; and in doing 
so we must never lose sight of the natural or real kinship 
that existed between the hvo brothers and their relative positions 
of elder and younger ; for if they are now to be looked upon 
only as symbols of existing modern realities, they must 
hold the same relationship in blood and station to each other 
in the day of final fulfillment that they did in incipiency. 
That is, in modern times, Edom must be regarded as the 
elder or birthright brother and head of the nation of July 4, 
1776, and Jacob as the younger-, and that the elder, Edom,, 
despising his natural and prior rights of civil headship, must 
yield it to his younger or later brother, Jacob, who alone 
becomes " Israel," having obtained " power with God and 
man " and " thus prevailed." We hope we are fully under- 
stood upon this point for very much depends upon the 
proper understanding of the relationship that existed between 
these two blood brothers at different times. " Strangers" 
and " foreigners " then, verse 11, were not of blood with the 
two brothers " Edom and Israel " in the prophecy, yet 
" Edom, the elder," is " confederate " with these strange for- 
eigners against his younger brother, Jacob, who becomes the 
civil head of the circumcision household. Watch narrowly 
in the modern Israel in the West for the points and facts 
noticed above. 



34 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

We copy again from verse n : " In the day that thou 
stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers 
carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into 
his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as 
one of them." 

Just here we wish to fasten attention upon the fact that 
the " Israel " here " carried away captive ' by c ' strangers," 
and into whose gates the " foreigners " entered, was k ' Jer- 
usalem," or as in verse 12, "Jiidah," which was the most 
southern of all the families of Jacob. " Jerusalem," or Juda h 
more properly, was, after the elder reign of Ephraim, the 
civil head of the nation ; but both of these belong to the 
civil reign, of the ancient, unrealizing and typical household 
of Shem, and can only be regarded as figures or symbols 
of the " latter day" household. We will continue the 
charges against Edom, which began in verse 10 with 
" violence against his brother Jacob." Verse 12: " But thou 
shouldst not have looked on the day of thy brother in the 
day that he became a stranger; neither shouldst thou have 
rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their 
destruction; neither shouldst thou have spoken proudly in 
the day of distress." Much less shouldst thou have been 
the chief agent in all these things. If southern Israel or 
" Jerusalem ' had sinned and her God had deemed it 
fit and proper to chastise her with u strangers " and " for- 
eigners," it ill became the elder Esau, as Jacob's brother, 
to " stand on the side " of said foreign centralized agents 
of God and be " even as one of them." Nay, more : If 
we understand it correctly Edom is herself the leading 
a%ent who goes abroad among her eastern or European 
confederates, and for bread, or for the means to procure it, 
hires these foreign mercenaries as instruments with which 
they may afflict Jerusalem. If claimed that ancient Edom 
is here charged with the sins of being " on the side" of 
Israel's enemies, and of " looking on approvingly," first, 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 35 

upon the overthrow and captivity of the ten tribes, and 
secondly, of "rejoicing" at the downfall and captivity of 
the kingdom of Judah, and of bearing herself " proudly " 
towards her captive blood, estranged from and chastised 
by the God of the nation, we shall make no objection to 
this application of the prophecy, but will contend most 
strenuously that the first fulfillment of this prophecy was 
but the minor and very incomplete, while the major or full 
realization was not then met, for the historic facts of the 
past do not come up to the demands of the case, and no 
Bible critic will attempt to claim a major realization. 
Therefore the " major " realization of this and of many 
other similar prophecies must be looked for in the " latter 
day " periods ; hence the terms Judah, Jerusalem, Jacob, 
Israel, Zion, etc., in this prophecy, all being national, and 
applicable literally to the ancient household, are now to be 
received as figures and symbols of the same things in the 
modern household. We take up again the address to 
"Edom," verse 13: "Thou, Edom, shouldst rot have 
entered into the gate of my p-ople in the day of their 
calamity." " Mark well," they are God's people in pros- 
perity or in woeful captivity to foreigners and strangers, 
and He is pledged for their final disenthrallment and per- 
manent national prosperity, and to this end the sequel of 
this prophecy addresses itself. 

To " enter into the gates " of a city, as of Jerusalem, is 
simply to enter into the land or country of Judah of which 
Jerusalem was the capital. " Yea, thou shouldst not " so 
much as " have looked on their affliction in the day of their 
calamity," but shouldst have hid thy face with weeping for 
thy afflicted younger brother. " Nor have laid violent hands 
on their substance, by wholesale, as ye have done in the 
day of their calamity. Neither shouldst thou, Edom, have 
stood in the cross-way and every way of escape, to cut off 
those of his that did escape, and try to flee the hand of 



36 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

destruction ; neither shouldst thou have delivered up 
those of his that did remain, and did not try to flee in the 
day of distress, as thou hast done." (Mark well the points- 
and make a modern application.) In heaven's name, how 
much more* could be charged against this heartless, wicked 
brother of Jerusalem ? His iniquity must be to the full, and 
and he "must be cut off by slaughter," while his brother, 
Judah, against whom he has done all these things, and 
whom God has chastened severely for his numerous sins, is 
to be " delivered in holiness." Verse 17. " Edom's " day 
of visitation, for all his evils to his younger brother Judah, 
will speedily come for he must be rewarded according to 
his works. They must eat the fruit of their own doings. 
They have "sown to the wind and must reap the whirl- 
wind," for, says the prophet, verse 15, "The day of the 
Lord is near upon all the heathen " — upon all centralized 
nations. How manifest it is that this prophecy adapts it- 
self " to all the heathen " or gentile centralized nations as 
well as to " Edom," the blood brother of modern Judah I 
If it was not intended by inspiration to convey the idea 
that all similar nations to that of " Edom " were embraced 
in this symbolic prophecy, why mention any others by the 
term, " all the heathen ? " For if " Edom " alone was 
intended, then there was no necessity to have gone beyond 
the common names for that kingdom and added " all the 
heathen." 

We go on with verse 15 : " For the day of the Lord is 
near upon all the heathen ; as thou hast done — unto 
thy brother Judah — it shall be done unto thee ; thy re- 
ward shall return upon thine own head. " Verse 16 : " For 
as ye " — those in modern times symbolized by " Edom " — 
" have drunk upon my holy mountain," — holy government 
or nation — "so shall all the heathen"' — nations — "drink con- 
tinually ; yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow 
down, and they sha ! l be as though they had not been." 



PROPHECY OF OBADTAH. 37 

That is, the Edomites or " ye," are those said to have drank 
upon God's holy government, here called " my holy moun 
tain." Drank blood — drank it at the hands of the '• sword," 
the " sword " being wielded by those designated "my 
holy mountain " or Mount Zion, verse 17. As*ye Edomites, 
yet brethren oj Judah, have drank blood upon my holy 
land — as ye modern Gentiles, yet in blood, brethren of Ju- 
dah, have in a civil sense, poured out your blood in the 
land of Israel's holiness — in the land of a pure, republican, 
states' rights confederacy, " so shall all the heathen or 
Gentiles do." " Yea, they shall drink continually; yea, 
they shall drink, and shall swallow down, and they shall 
be as though they had not been." Thou, Esau, hast drunk 
blood at the hands of Judah, thy younger brother, in the 
southern land of Jerusalem, or " on my holy mountain," 
but "thou hast not drunk continually y" thou hast not drunk 
until thou be " as though thou had not been ;" for thou art 
yet a people, though far removed from original righteous- 
ness. Thou hast corrupted thy ways, and been brought 
by thy confederate " strangers and foreigners " eve7i to the 
border of destruction ; and in unrighteousness hast thou 
waged a bloody war upon " thy own mother's son," yet 
shalt thou become reconciled tcr thy much wronged and 
younger brother, Judah. But as to the "heathen nations," 
" they shall all drink conl'mnally ; yea, they shall drink and 
they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they 
had not been." The heathen nations that have lent a 
willing hand to thee in the overthrow of thy brother Ju- 
dah shall be tetter ly destroyed, whilst thou shalt be saved 
on the very borders of detruction. 

Upon the subject of nations " drinking," as above, we 
will cite the reader to the 25th of Jeremiah, which he may 
read in this place as a part of this paper. But lest the 
reader may not have a Bible at hand we will copy a part 
.of the chapter here. God had caused the overthrow and 



38 WESTERN STAR OE EMPIRE. 

captivity of his own people by, and to, the Babylonians for 
seventy years, at the end of which time he restores them 
and promises them to punish the Babylonians according to 
all that was written in the book of Jeremiah " against all 
the nations. "' " For thus saith the Lord God of Israel 
unto me : take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and 
cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it ; and 
they shall drink and be moved, and be mad because of the 
sword — or war — that I will send among them. Then took I 
the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all nations to drink, 
unto whom the Lord had sent me." Here follows a long 
list of nations who were made to drink of this wine cup of 
the Lord's fury, God saying to them, " Drink ye, and be 
drunken, and spue and fall, and rise no more, because of the 
sword which I will send among you." The drunkenness 
here brought to light was occasioned by the loss of blood, 
for the " drunkenness," and " spewing," and " falling " to 
rise no more was " because of the sword that God would 
send among them." The " wine " that was in the cup was 
" wine" that had flowed from wounds made by the " sword." 
It was literally blood or " the wine of death." Ancient 
Edom or Esau, as a nation, has drank this bloody cup of 
death in all its fullness and fiery fierceness, and is to-day the 
most desolate of the desolate. Perhaps no nation, not 
even the Ninevites, are more completely extirpated as a 
nation, and this in answer to the demands of the most 
withering curses in prophecy ; hence she is seized upon as a 
very fit and proper representative symbol of "all the 
heathen." For, as was her overthrow anciently, so is to be 
the overthrow in modern times of " all the heathen nations," 
or those nations that do not hold and. practice a theocratic, 
democratic, republican states' rights form of government. 
And as all the heathen, or anti-theocratic, democratic, 
republican, states' rights, confederate nations, are not thus 
overthrown, we know herefrom that this prophecy has not 



PROPHECY OF OB AD J AH. 39 

met with its major realization, notwithstanding it may be 
admitted that every individual nation named in prophecy 
as of ancient existence has been thus overthrown, for the 
prophecies always look to fulfillments that are permanent 
and everlasting in their nature ; hence, nothing short of 
" everlasting " will meet the demands of Israel's promises 
which embrace not only her final and everlasting restora- 
tion and prosperity but also the final and everlasting de- 
struction of her enemies as absolutely essential to Israel's 
universality and permanency. For instance, we know, and 
no one will dare say to the contrary, that the various proph- 
ecies and promises of felicity and everlasting permanency 
made to Israel, as Judah or Jerusalem, or, what is the 
same thing, made to the house and throne of David, have 
not met with fulfithnent, not even in the " rearing up of the 
tabernacles of David thai are fallen down." This was 
repledged and in some sense incipiently said to be realized, 
in the coming of Christ the first time as a son and heir of 
David, but as to the house and throne or tabernacles of 
David being now in actual existence, no man in his senses 
will contend. 

Of course we can never claim the full realization of a 
promise that has no end, since it is impossible to find " the 
end everlasting." But we have a right to look for those 
prerequisites that bespeak and are irecessary to the " be- 
ginning of a universal and everlasting reign to the house 
and throne of David in its major features. We must have 
a beginning to our sequel, but no ending. The Jews, on 
their return from the Babylonish captivity, thought, under 
the promise that " the glory of this latter house was to be 
far superior to the glory of the former house," that they were 
then about to enter upon the grand and final realization of 
all that had been promised to the house and throne of their 
father David. They little dreamed that in a very short 
time their civil existence as a people was to end in a 



40 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

death or sleep that apparently knows no waking. Then we 
conclude, that as none of the promises of perpetuity to God's 
Israel seem yet to have entered upon their future elernal- 
ity (nor can they so long as an adverse or gentile civil 
polity is so nearly universally maintained, for the very 
good reason that the promise to Israel in Abraham, and all 
the subsequent renewals of it to the after- fat hers and pa- 
triarchs, as well as to the nations in after days, was a 
nationality co-extensive with the earth, or E., W., N., and S., 
and as long as the gentiles rule or reign in the E., W., N., 
and S. there is not a possibility of Israel's promises being 
fulfilled to her, and as the prophecies declare most em- 
phatically that " all the heathen" — " Edomitish," "Egyp- 
tian," Babylonian," " Euphratean " — enemies of God's dual 
Israel, " shall be utterly destroyed," as very forcibly illus- 
trated by the smiting of the great monarchy image, of so 
much note, in the second chapter of Daniel, by the " stone 
cut out of the mountain without hands)," we understand 
not a partial and temporary destruction, but a total and per- 
manent destruction of centralism, so as to give room o?i 
earth, and in time, for the re-establishment of the house and 
throne of David, that was and is to abide forever — a Bible, 
theocratic, democratic, republican, states' rights confeder- 
acy. It cannot be universal in its beginning but it must 
be ' set up" in organic and visible form at some time and 
in some locality, and then go on to universal empire and 
fall no more. 

If God pulleth down nations and exalteth nations as 
seeineth good to Him, we suppose Plis settled purposes in 
this line must look to permanency in the pulling down as 
well as in the building up, and if He has given us a history of 
a nation that He has planted and called His " vineyard," 
and of the " pulling down " of various heathen nations to 
make room for the planting of such national " vineyard," 
and the " vineyard" thus planted fails to be a permanency, 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 41 

we conclude that it failed ; not by the design of God, but 
from a failure on the part of the " vineyard " thus planted 
to obey or conform to the law or order of its founder, and 
thus force themselves to assume a typical character. And 
hence we hear so much about the restoration of that which 
had been, viz. : " I will set my hand again the second 
time to restore," etc. (This is a second restoration since the 
original planting, which gives us three up-buildings or 
plantings of this vineyard.) " I will appoint a 7iew p!ace" 
or land, " and wili plant," etc. " I will take up the high- 
est branch of the high cedar and set or plant it ;" " I will 
crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one and 
will plant it." etc. 

Thus God shows his settled purpose to establish an Israel 
of permanency in our earth. The only reason why none of 
the Israelites heretofore planted have proven to be " perma- 
nent," is from the fact that " they have set at naught the 
councils of God," and have thus " sold themselves " into a 
bondage of nonentity. Then shall we conclude that, be- 
cause Ct Israels " have heretofore u sold themselves " into 
bondage, and as modern Edom has done or is doing, 
the purposes of God have failed, or that he has aban- 
doned his original designs in this line of things ? I rather 
suppose not ! Then the question arises, may we not look 
for and confidently expect a permanent and prosperous 
plant or " rod " of Israel to arise in this the latter day of 
promise ? 

Answer. " Yes ! yes ! yes ! " And the prophet Obadiah 
gives us some very important light upon the point in hand. 
In the first place, he very properly as we have seen, dis- 
poses of "all the heathen nations " to make room for God's 
latter J 1 ' udean Israel to arise in and occupy. 

And, in the second place, he introduces this " Judean " 
Israel as "delivered in holiness" (verse 17), from her 
bondage to " those heathens." In the next place, he puts 



42 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

this delivered " Israel in possession " of " all the heathen 
nations." And that we do not lose sight of the connection 
between the foregoing part of the prophecy that speaks of 
the total overthrow of" all the heathen nations/' and that 
which follows in the final planting or restoration of a Ju- 
dean fsrael, we will again copy from the latter part of 
the 1 6th verse and pass on to the 17th verse where this 
Judean Israel as " Zion " and " Jacob " comes up for " de- 
liverance " and permanent " possession " of the former 
"possessions " of the Gentiles. Verse 16: "Yea, they 
shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be 
as though they had not been." Verse 17 : " But upon 
Mount Zion " — Judah — " shall be deliverance, and there 
shall be holiness ; and the house of Jacob " — under Judah 
— "shall possess their " — Edorn's — "possessions." Verse 
18: "And the house of Jacob " — Israel — "shall be a fire, 
and the house of Joseph — Israel — " a flame, and the house 
of Esau " — Edom — " for stubble, and they shall kindle in 
them, and devour them, and there shall not be any re- 
maining of the house of Esau " — Edom — "for the Lord 
hath spoken it." Thus, in clear and unequivocal language^ 
we are informed, first, of the utter annihilation of the 
heathen nations symbolized by " Edom f secondly, " de- 
liverance " in " holiness " to the house of Israel, under Je- 
rusalem or Zion ; thirdly, being delivered they " possess '' 
the former possessions of their enemies, the heathen ; 
and fourthly, the house of Israel being restored in " holi- 
ness " and in " possession '' of the heathen's former posses- 
sions prove themselves to be a " flaming fire," consuming 
like dry " stubble " any vestige or remains of centralism, ;js 
opposed to states' rights confederation; "for the Lord 
hath spoken it," and who dares say it shall not be so, even 
as the " Lord hath spoken it ?" 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 42 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 

We have said in substance that ancient Edom symbolizes 
modern Edom or modern Gentilism, and that ancient 
Israel symbolizes modern Israel or a modern states' rights 
confederation. If this be correct, then where ancient Is- 
rael is, as a symbol, mentioned in her tribes or " hosts " as 
being South or North — thus making localities, or by her 
tribal boundaries of " seas," showing the territorial extent 
of said tribe or tribes, or by her chief cities of strength, 
etc., we are warranted in attaching the same tribal names, 
the same localities, the same tribal boundaries of " seas," 
defining territorial empire — the same cities of strength with 
their localities, to the modern Israel, that must answer to 
the type in the ancient house. If our premises are correct, 
then our modern application is logically correct. That is, 
if in the ancient house the tribe of Judah is denominated 
"the southern host of the children of Israel," whose boun- 
dary was from the sea east to the sea west, and southward 
to the sea, and bounded north by Benjamin and other 
tribes, and as holding within herself the entire tribe of Sim- 
eon, and the renowned city of Zion as a military strong- 
hold, and shown by her defined boundaries to embrace 
territory almost equal to the eleven remaining states, and 
as being the law -giving tribe of sceptership, with the gen- 
eral character of the lion, and of whom David was, and 
last, but not least of whom the chief ruler was to come, 
then we are safe in looking for the same " marks " in the 



4-1 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

modern household, as attaching to its Judean quarter or 
"southern host." With these remarks we return and no- 
tice verse 17, where it is said : " Upon Mount Zion shall be 
deliverance, " and in this deliverance of Israel by or through 
■" Mount Zion," "holiness" or purity was declared of the 
nation. She was to be holy and Mount Zion was the seat 
or savor of her holiness. Now to the question. What was 
Mount Zion to the ancienthousehold? For whatsoever Zion 
was to the ancient house such is she to the modern house, 
since the former but symbolizes the latter in every minutiae. 
Need I say to the intelligent reader that "Mount Zion " was 
a military stronghold, called by inspiration " a fort," and 
again "a castle," within whose high walls King David and all 
his successors upon the throne of Judah dwelt; and from 
the fact that in about the five hundredth year of the kingdom 
of Israel, David took this heretofore impregnable fortress 
from the Jebusites, and made it his dwelling place, it was 
then called " the City of David." So the castellated fort of 
Zion and " the. City of David" was one and the same thing. 
And here on Mount Zion David erected a tent for, and 
brought hither from the house of Obed-Edom, "the ark of 
the covenant;" and here on Mount Zion, the City of 
David, the nation went up to worship the Lord for forty 
years; for in the eleventh year of Solomon he transferred 
the ark to the temple. 

The ancient household under the forty years' reign of 
David was a nation of mighty warriors and conquerors, 
subduing all the surrounding nations, and this castellated 
fort of Zion was the headquarters of her general king. The 
leading character of the nation at and during the time 
spoken of was military, most emphatically ; hence, the 
nation was very, very often designated by the term " zion," 
and that very appropriately, too, since zion's military king 
and hosts gave the nation its distinctive character. This 
mount and fort, with its general and army, that gave the dis- 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 45 

tinctive military character to the nation, belonged to the 
tribe of Judah ; and David, its first possessor, was a prince 
of Judah and the greatest king that everreigned upon earth. 
For it is said of him in sacred writ that he had been per- 
fect before God all the days of his life, save in the killing of 
Uriah, which was a wicked violation of the civil law. This, 
castellated fort was the military head-quarters of the most 
skillful and successful general of ancient or modern times, 
who through a forty years' war, which resulted in the con- 
quest of all the surrounding nations, lost not a single battle,, 
nor met with a reverse in the held. And this " military 
stronghold" being within the tribal lines of " Judah the 
beloved of the Lord," with its king and general above, gives, 
an importance to the tribe of Judah not to be lightly 
regarded; and when taken in connection with the fact that 
the city of Jerusalem in the tribe of Benjamin was with 
this Zion or City of David, the capital of the nation, 
during the time of its greatest triumphs ; and that they 
jointly were called " Arial-Arial," or the " two lions of God ;" 
and that this castellated fort of zion was the " lion,"' or mil- 
itary arm of the nation, while Jerusalem, which is so fre- 
quently called the " daughter of Zion," was the " lioness," 
or the more feeble and defenseless designation of the nation, 
the nation's chief strength, defensive and offensive, as well 
as its " holiness " or purity, civilly considered, dwelt in 
Zion, within the tribal lines of Judah, who was himself 
styled the "lion." In fact it ivas the lion tribe of ine 
nation. 

We say, all these facts being duly considered, we see that 
there is more than an ordinary importance attached to all 
that is associated with "Judah," " Jerusalem " and " Mount 
Zion " in our prophecy. Let us look at the next point of 
importance, i. e., the geographical or local position of 
Judah to the balance of the nation. She was the most 
southern of all the tribes, and not only so, but lay directly to 



46 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

the south of them, both of which facts are of vast importance 
in considering the significancy of this prophecy as applica- 
ble to modern times. Joshua xviii, 5 : " Judah shall 
abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph, 
" Ephraim and Manasseh, that represented the remainder 
of the nation, " shall abide in the const on the north" See 
also Joshua xv for the local position of Judah and the 
vastness of her territorial limits, and her natural mater 
boundaries, all of which is possessed of an importance nor 
to be overlooked in the final history of that great and lead- 
ing £ lion tribe." Upon and within that lion tribe rests 
" the house and throne of David forever." She possesses 
largely more territory than any of the states of Israel, and 
holds within her tribal lines the entire tribe of Simeon. (See 
Joshua xix, 1, 9 ) 1 his last fact is full of significancy in a 
modern application, which cannot be discerned in the orig- 
inal or ancient settlements of the tribes, but is quite manifest 
when regarded as symbolic of the future history of the nation. 
We may learn from this that modern Judah was to hold within 
her an empire of territory within which other states might 
be founded as the national demands seem to require, for 
after we estimate the amount of territory taken up by 
Simeon, having an eye to the average size of the northern 
tribes, we still find Judah possessed of territory sufficient 
for an indefinite number of states. She is from sea to sea east 
and west, and southward to the river of Egypt and the 
sea. and bounded by the other states on the north. Geo- 
graphically, then, Judah was the most southern of all the 
states of Israel, and possessing within herself symbolically 
an empire of states confederate, as "Judah" or "Jerusa- 
lem," and not unfrequently called "Zion." Now what use 
can we legitimately make of the foregoing facts touching 
ancient " Judah,"—" Jerusalem " — and " Zion ? ' We will 
see\ In verse 17th we have observed that the house of 
Israel under the appellation of "Zion" (which is synony- 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 47 

mous with Judah or Jerusalem) is delivered from his 
enemies, and then put in possession of his enemies' posses- 
sions, and declared to be " holy." In verse 18th they, 
under the character of "flaming fire," utterly consume the 
stubble remains of Esau, " so that there shall not be any 
remaining of the house of Esau." This, it must be 
observed, is the whole nation or " house of Jacob," re- 
gardless of particular tribes or localities, notwithstanding 
the ' deliverance " — " holiness " — and " possession " to " the 
house of Jacob," was by or through " Zion " (verse 17th) 
as the governing or leading head. 

Now observe carefully the chronological order of the 
prophecy : First, verse 16 : The total destruction of "ail 
the heathen nations." This was necessary to give place 
and success to what follows. Second, verse 17: " Deliver- 
ance in holiness" to the whole nation by " Zion." Third, 
verse 17: The " possession " of their enemies' "posses- 
sions," by the whole nation or " house of Jacob," but under 
the head or lead of Zion. Fourth, verse 18 : A fiery con- 
sumption of every vestige or " stubble " remains of "Edom " 
— or centralism — in the house of the elder, or birthright, 
head of the nation, who had sold the same. And fifth, and 
lastly, verse 19 (and on, as episodical of verses 17 and 18, 
for that which now follows is but reiterating and enlarging 
upon facts set forth in the 17th and 18th verses, specifying 
and particularizing in detail the before-uttered in regard to 
Mount Zion). " And the South shall possess the Mount of 
Esau," possessed before by the whole house of Jacob, verse 
17 : but now in the fifth chronological advance towards the 
full realization of the demands of the prophecy. "The South" 
of Israel, which is Judah or David's kingdom, " shall pos- 
sess the Mount of Esau and the plain (of) the Philistines ;" 
and they, " the South, ' " shall possess the fields of Eph- 
raim, and the fields of Samaria and Benjamin (and) Gilead." 
Verse 20 : " And the captivity of this " — Southern — " host 



48 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

of the children of Israel shall possess the Canaanites, even 
unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem" — this 
host—" which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the 
South"." That is, while she is possessing so much else- 
where, let it be also known that last of all she is in quiet 
possession of her own " cities " of the South, which but 
represent countries. " And saviours shall rise up on Mount 
Zion to judge the Mount of Esau ;" and then "the king- 
dom shall be the Lord's." And thus ends the prophecy, 
of Obadiah. 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 49 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 

The very improper supplies found in italics in verse 19 
of King James' translation makes it appear that there were 
several possessors, while in fact " the south," alone, posses- 
ses everything from the beginning of verse 19 to the end of 
the prophecy. (See verse 17 and 18 as conveying all to 
Zion.) A supply is only warrantable where it is manifest 
that a better sense is obtained by it, which is not the case 
in verse 19, hence we reject the supplies entirely and read 
as translated from the original, supplying "of" and "and" 
as above. Verse 20 fastens the whole of the " possessions " 
of verse 19 to one "host of the children of Israel." What- 
ever host of the children of Israel this was, she must be 
known as having been in "captivity" herself, and must 
have been delivered, as in verse 17, before she becomes, as 
in verses 19 and 20, "possessed" of such vast "posses- 
sions." " This host," verse 20, has direct reference to some 
particular " host " before mentioned, and it cannot refer 
to Ephraim, Samaria, Benjamin or Gilead, for they have 
themselves been given, as the possessions of the South, 
verse 19, which is episodical obverses 17 and 18. There- 
fore we are compelled to refer " this host," verse 20, to its 
nearest antecedent, "the South," of verse 19, that is there 
put in possession of Ephraim, Samaria, Benjamin and Gil- 
ead. And "Zion," inverse 17, being the only mentioned 
host, or division of the house of Jacob going before, "the 
South," of verse 19, " Zion," therefore, must also be an 



50 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

antecedent, and if so, of the "South; and here we learn 
that "Zion," or "the South," had been in "captivity," as 
verse 20 seems to demand, from the fact that she is here 
(verse 171 "delivered" from her "captivity." Thus we 
see that "Zion" (verse 17) being delivered from her ene- 
mies and declared to be " holy," appears inverse 19 as 
"the South," and in verse 20 as the " captive host of the 
children of Israel," and further on in the same verse as 
" the captivity of Jerusalem." So that " the captivity of 
Jerusalem " and the "captivity of this host," and "the South,'" 
and " Zion," are all interchangeable names for the same 
branch or " host " of the house of Jacob. And who is 
there that cannot see the appropriateness of all these names 
for the house of Judah by allowing "this captive host " to 
refer to its antecedent, " the South." And then the South 
to its antecedent, Mount Zion, of verse 17. "Zion " was 
the military stronghold and lion city of the tribe, while 
Jerusalem was the capital of the joint tribes of Judah and 
Benjamin. As to the appropriateness of the term " South," 
as applied to Judah, ?iothing can exceed it. 

And last, but not least, " this host " was in captivity her- 
self, but being delivered She becomes possessor of all pos- 
sessions. Is it not as manifest as the noon-day sun that 
all the "possessions," from first to last, are set down to the 
account of this southern Jerusalem host, or Zion, just as 
you please, for they are the double city, or " two lions of 
God," when taken together — Zion being the mascuiine and 
Jerusalem the feminine designation of the nation — under 
Judah's head, and he the lion tribe of the nation ? Those 
of our readers who have been taught to look upon the 
term " Zion " as applicable alone to the Church, may not 
approve of the application we make of it. To such we 
say, by what name was the Church called the five hundred 
years previous to David's taking " the fort " of Zion ? 

This Southern host of modern Israel, sometime before the 



PROPHECY OF OBADIAH. 51 

realization of her promised possessions, was herself a captive 
in captivity, but now becomes not only the possessor of the 
former possessions of Edom, her elder, but being delivered 
with Israel as a whole, she then becomes the possessor or 
controller of all heathendom. Mark carefully the reading 
of the 19th verse, omitting the improper supply in italics : 
" And the South shall possess the Mount — (government) — of 
Esau and the plain of the Philistines;" thus far they pos- 
sess heathen ground, for these .are strictly heathen terms, 
but the remainder of this verse is taken up with putting this 
captive Southern host in possession of Iraelitish ground sit- 
uated North of them, viz.: " And they shall possess the 
fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria and Benjamin 
and Gilead " — all north of Judah. 

This gives the "host" of Judah the possession of the 
whole of Israel, as well as of heathen ground, for Israel 
was embraced in full by the second class of figures or sym- 
bols, that is, " the fields of Ephraim," etc. 

The kingdom of Israel first arose under the tribal head- 
ship of Ephraim, and stood about five hundred years and 
is often designated in the Scriptures by the term * Eph- 
raim." Hence %t the fields or lands of Ephraim," embraced 
all Israel. But after this five-hundred year reign of Eph- 
raim, the tribe of Judah becomes the tribal head of Israel, 
but retained this tribal headship only seventy-three and a 
half years, for upon the accession of Rehoboam, ten states 
broke of! from the house of David, and reorganized under 
an Ephraimitish headship, with " Samaria" for the capital. 
And this branch of the Israelitish nation was commonly 
designaied " Samaria," from the capital city, which is quite 
common with all nations, ancient and modern. For ex- 
ample, we say the government of Paris, of London, of 
Washington, of St. Petersburg, etc. Hence " Samaria," 
verse 19, signifies the kingdom of Israel that arose out of 
the ten tribes under Jeroboam. So that, " and the fields of 



52 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE, 

Samaria " that are put into the possession of this Southern 
Judean host simply means that all that were of the ten- 
tribed Israel, as well as all of Ephraim's Israel which went 
before and consisted of Shemitic blood, or the remains of 
the persons of the old house is transferred by God to modern 
yudah, called the ", South," in verse 19 and the "captive 
host," in verse 20. 

And next, "and Benjamin formed one of the states of the 
first head of Israel," which arose as above mentioned 
under Ephraim's tribal headship, and went: with all the 
tribes after the death of Saul, with David or Judah, the 
second head. But when the ten states broke off under 
Jeroboam, as above noted, Benjamin adhered to the house 
of David or Judah. And now on Judah's^v^/ restoration 
it must be shown that no state, or tribe, in all Israel, ancient 
or modern, shall be wanting to " the house and throne of 
David." Hence "Benjamin" is transferred to this south- 
ern host of Israel, for Benjamin never belonged to Jero- 
boam's ten-tribed Israel, called "the fields of Samaria;" 
hence Benjamin must be named individually, or he would 
have been left out entirely. And next, "and Gilead." 
The land of Gilead lay to the east of Canaan, or on the 
e:ist side of Jordan and with Bashan was occupied by the 
half-tribe of Manasseh in connection with Reuben and 
Gad; and Manasseh being one of the reigning tribes or 
heads of the kingdom of Israel, he was put in possession ot 
this three-tribed Israel on the east of Jordan. See Joshua, 
vii, 1 : " Because he was a man of war, therefore he had 
Gilead and Bashan." Now three tribes occupied Gilead 
and Bashan, but to Manasseh, as head of the three, the 
land was given. And Manasseh, who possessed as chief the 
land of Gilead, in a typical sense represents the third head 
of the kingdom of Israel, which is the United States of 
America. Hence, " Gilead," in the 19th verse, signifies no 
more nor less than the third head of the kingdom of Israel, 



PROPHECY OF O BAD! AH. 53 

or United States of America. That is Manasseh and 
" Gilead," in this passage, are synonymous with the land 
or country of which Manasseh's tribe was the honorary 
head, and that land we have clearly shown* was, and is, 
the United States of America. And our modern Israel, 
like the ancient household, holds within her southern bor- 
der a " Judah " of imperial domain. This modern Judah, 
like her ancient sister, has gone into captivity, but must and 
will be delivered in holiness, verse 17. And then to become 
the head or lion division of the nation, Judah being deliv- 
ered from her captivity, is restored as the " tabernacles of 
David that are fallen down." And being thus restored, 
•she becomes " possessed " of everything heretofore possess- 
ed by the whole nation. " Ephraim " is hers, " Samaria," 
or ten-tribed Israel, is hers, " Benjamin," who did not belong 
to the ten-tribed Israel, is hers and " Gilead," or Manasseh 
is hers. This is in strict keeping with what is said of 
Judah or Jerusalem in the 16th chapter of Ezekiel, where 
God, speaking to Jerusalem after her restoration, recorded 
in the 53d verse, says : " Then thou shalt remember thy 
ways and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters , 
thine elder and thy younger. And I will give them u?ito 
thee for daughters" Thus in xvi, 61, of Ezekiel, as in the 
19th verse Obadiah, is this now (March 1867) captive 
southern host of Israel to be put in possession of the two 
sisters Israel, the one her elder and the other her younger 
— that is elder and younger as to their typical reigns — 
while Judah is the elder in the antitypica'l reign, since she 
has preceded the other two in this, the antitypical day. 

" Oh ! that the salvation of Israel were come out of 
Zion ; when God bringeth back the captivity of his people, 
J^cob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad." "In that 
day will I raise up the tabernacles of David "—-Judah — 



*In Volume I. 



C4 WESTERN STAR OF EMPIRE. 

" that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof. And I 
will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of 
old" Amos ix. n. Thus it is to be in the modern house 
of David, " as in the days of old." Verse 12: " That they 
may possess the remnant of Edo?n^ and of all the heathen 
which are called by my nime, saith the Lord, that doeth 
this." That is, David's kingdom being fallen, it will be 
restored as it was " in the days of old," when it held the 
supremacy. And then, verse 12, "they shall possess the 
remnant of modern Edom and all the kindred of Edom y 
that are called by God's name, as Israel was called God's 
people." From this we learn that the " Edom," and the 
"heathen," of this verse 12, were once God's true Israel, 
and called by God's name, but are now so far gone from 
original Washingtonian and JerTersonian purity as to be 
styled Edomites and heathens. But we look for the taber- 
nacle of Judah, that is now fallen down, to be raised up 
and established as of old, and then the degenerate Israel 
called Edomites and heathen to be given to her. After 
which the following will be the state of Israel, verse 13 : 
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman 
shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him 
that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet 
wine and all the hills shall melt." This is said of Israel 
after her restoration under David, or which is the same, 
under Judah. But what follows in the 14th and 15th 
verses, ch. ix? Amos is not applicable to modern Israel; 
for verses 11, 12 and 13 refer to her, while verses 14 and 
15 are directly applicable to the Jews now dispersed, and 
in civil " captivity," being " pulled up out of their land, 
which God gave them." " Blindness in part hath hap- 
pened unto the Shemitic Israel, until the fullness of the 
Japhetic or Gentile Israel be come in, and so all Israel, 
ancient and modern, shall be saved." 

We now give verses 14, 15, above referred to as applica- 



PROPHECY OF 0BAD1AH. 55 

ble to the Jews : " And I will bring again the captivity of 
my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, 
and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and 
drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, 
and eat the fruit of them ; and I will plant them upon their 
land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land 
which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God." This 
is not applicable to modern Israel, for they have never 
been " pulled up out of their land." The Israel of verses 
ii, 12, 13, is only "fallen down " on its own land, and is 
to be raised up on the same with all the breaches of division 
healed, after which the prosperity, of the 13th verse, fol- 
lows. No man need go farther than the beforementioned 
16th chapter of Ezekiel to find modern Israel "breached," 
or broken, into three separate kingdoms, called, respectively, 
" Samaria the elder," " Sodom the younger," and "Jeru- 
salem " or Judah ; and to find that the " Elder" and the 
"Younger" of Judah in the typical age are both to be 
given to her in the antitypical, and thus heal the breaches 
spoken of by Amos. The modern Judah or tabernacle of 
David, whose Star of Empire arose in the East in 1861 and 
ran to the West, is now fallen down on her own land, but 
will be raised up partially in 18 — , and wholly so immedi- 
ately thereafter, from which time forward she will be the 
guiding Star of Empire, moving with majestic grandeur 
aad lightning rapidity to the West, radiating to the North 
and South, and sweeping with resistless force all opposing 
empires, or " the divine right of kings," and " the succes- 
sion of St. Peter " from the face of the earth. She is " the 
#tone cut out of the mountain without labor," that is to 
" smite and break to pieces, and then to grind to powder," 
H all nations and kindreds and tongues and people " that 
*.re not theocratic, democratic, republican, states' rights 
confederate organisms. 



PART II. 



THE SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS 

OF REVELATION. 



PREFACE 



How is it, that with the Book of Revelation in their hands, and its 
unequivocal declaration that it was a revelation of God the Father, 
given unto Jesus Christ, of things shortly to come to pass, and that 
Christ had sent and signified the same unto His servants by the hand 
of John, that the most thorough Bible students, commentators and 
expositors, have been endeavoring, almost since the very days of St. John, 
to find and verify a fulfillment of its prophetic utterances, notwith- 
standing it would be wholly impossible for one single event of this 
prophecy to occur or meet with fulfillment in the absence of an Israel, 
as the servants of Jesus Christ, to whom it was sent and to whom its 
event refers? Ancient Israel, as the children and servants of God, in 
a civil sense, had passed away at the giving of this revelation, but her 
prophets had not failed to certify us by the most ample and oft-repeated 
utterances, that Israel should arise and exist again, and that all the 
glory and grandeur bespoken of God^ people not realized by the 
ancient house would be under the "latter day" house of Christ. Why, 
then, in the absence of any Israel, should we expect any of the unfulfilled 
prophecies of the ancient seers, or of those given us by St. John, to be 
met? It is utterly impossible for any of these to come to pass until the. 
Israel promised by the old prophets should arise, at least in its typicai 
form. Hence how futile and unsatisfactory the herculean labors and 
toil of all expositors of prophecy anterior to 1776, the identical time of 
said rise. Scarcely a single nation of any note that existed since the 
days of St. John has been left out of these prophecies by the many 
able scholars and expositors that have taken the matter in hand. If 
they had given the proper attention to the vcy first declarations in the 
book and awaited till the servants of Jesus Christ, or the Israej 
demanded by the old prophets had arisen, then had they been spared 
the useless labor that they performed. That there is very, very much 
in the old prophets and St. John that has direct reference to Gentile 
nations, we are free to admit, but always refers to them as the enemies 
of Israel, for all of Israel's conflicts, trials, captivities, deliverances and 
triumphs, have direct reference to her enemies, with whom she has 



60 PREFACE. 

these conflicts and trials, and to whom she became captive, and from 
whom she is delivered, and over whom she triumphs. Therefore, 
when we are considering the prophetic history of God's Israel, we are 
necessarily also considering largely the history of her enemies. Could 
it be otherwise ? Certainly not. The history, not only of Israel 
but also of Gentile nations, is necessarily involved in the history of 
other Gentile nations. The history of Israel, tneief>re, could not be 
.given in prophecy and yet ignore the history in some degree of her 
enemies. We conclude, then, that we can have in prophecy no pro- 
phetic history or notice of Gentile nations only as they stand related in 
said history to Israel ; therefore from the time of the non-existence of 
the ancient house to the advent of the Israel of 1776 we have nothing 
transpiring in prophetic history of any Gentile nation. And if not, all 
attempts between these two points of time to find fulfillments of 
prophecy would inevitably be abortive. Let it not be sa;d that we 
crowd too much of prophetic importance into the short perk ds of 
modern Israel to comport with what we see and know, or to harmonize; 
with the great prophetic periods and events of the long history of the 
ancient house. The long history of the multip ied events of the 
ancient house, though it may have stood a th >usand years, is not in its 
importance to be compared with the transcendent glory and magnifi- 
cence of this latter day house, for the former was typical and short 
lived, while modern Israel, in its seven-horned offspring, is anti- 
typical and endless. 

The burden and theme of the prophets was not so much in reference 
to David and his Israel that seceded from the first I>rael, as to David's 
greater Son and his seven-horned Israel that secedes from and ari>es 
out of modern Israel, over which Luke says, He is to reign forever. 
We must not let the very strong, highly figuradve and symbolic lan- 
guage of John mislead us, or expect to see the sights he is represented as 
seeing. We must come down to plain matters of fjet in history — ma ! ters 
belonging to earth and time — stripped of all of its imagery and embel- 
lishments. We shall see no throne set in heaven with its Deity enthroned, 
and a seven-horned lamb in the midst of the throne and four beasts with 
four faces each, as standing around the throne and in the midst of the 
throne ; and four and twenty elders, as priests and kings, seated upon 
twenty-four seats surrounding the throne, and a rainbow spanning the 
heavens around this throne, and lightning flashes issuing from the 
throne, while thunders reverberate, or echo and re-echo f.om side to 
side, or throughout the vast universe of heaven. If we wait in expect- 
ation of witnessing these, we will wait until doomsday and still be dis- 
appointed. John saw and heard all these and much more not noted 



PREFACE. Gl 

above. We are to realize them as matters of fact transpiring in the 
history of modern Israel, after the opening of the first seal by the seven- 
horned lamb, as the administrative head of a seven-horned Israel, just 
as matters of fact have ever been transpiiing in the history of the world 
and not otherwise. Why should it be considered otherwise? Cer- 
tainly not simply because of the refined imagery a .d symbolism <T 
John. Such sights, sounds, etc., as these have never had occurrence 
on earth, and if any are disposed to think differently and are inclined to 
wait and look out into the future for a realization of their expectations, 
they may wait and look until eternity grows gray with years and still 
be doomed to disappointment. These revelations of the matters of 
fact to occur in Christ's seven-horned Israel are nothing different in 
their nature from those that occurred in the Israel before the days of 
Christ's civil reign as a seven-horned lamb over a corresponding seven- 
horned Israel, only that in point of importance, the Israel of Christ as 
being antitypical of the ancient house under its three typical heads, takes 
precedence over, or out ranks the typical just so much as Christ, the 
Prince, out ranks the princes of the typical Israels above. Thus the 
modern Israel of Christ is nothing different in its nature and office 
from the typical heads going before, just as the offices of Christ as 
prophet, priest and king, are nothing different in their natures from 
these offices as filled by his types, Moses, Aaron and David. The dif- 
ference arises not from any difference in the nature of these offices, but 
simply and solely from the superiority of Christ to his types, Moses, 
Aaron and David. There is and can be no possi' le difference in the 
nature of the office of the antitype and that of his prior type, for as to 
their nature, import, office or significancy, they are positively identical and 
could not be otherwise, and yec the one be called the type of the other. 
This we know cannot be successfully gainsayed or even called in ques- 
tion. Therefore we conclude that the very strong, figurative imagery 
and symbolism of John simply goes to show, or teach us, that the 
Israel of Christ brought to view under these is to be considered and 
received as transcending and overreaching in its importance and final 
results ad prior or typical reigns of Israel, just so much as these highly 
figurative manifestations surpass common matter-of-fact narrations. The 
matters of fact Harrated in this prophecy must be reduced to the com- 
mon language of the history of its fulfillment. We have difficulties 
quite enough with things in our history that are in themselves difficult, 
but why should we seek to make difficulties out of things that are not 
at all difficult. 

The Seals, Trumpets and Vials of Revelation belong to modern Israel 
of the We t, but none of them reach back to her rise in 1776, but date 



62 PREFACE. 

and begin at the rise of her offspring, the seven-horned confederacy 
of Christ in 1861. The confederacy of 1776 is to be regarded as an 
Israel of God, and as belonging to the typical dispensation that demand- 
ed three typical Israels, and she being the third, ends the typical dis- 
pensation, while the confederate states are antitypical and fall within 
the new dispensation designated " latter days," whose beginning is at 
the exact point of time marked by the opening of the first Seal. She 
being first in the realizing age takes the lead as Jicdah or as the Lion 
division of Israel, indicated by seven horns or sovereignties under the 
head of the lamb. " Seven ' is her birth number under the lead of 
the Lion of the tribe of Judah called a seven-horned lamb. She re- 
mains not as "Seven," but soon bee unes " one-third " of the Israel of 
1776 and is overthrown as " one-third " and so remains for " three and 
a half days," and then attains unto life again, at which time another 
"one third "of the nation secedes in the West, and then the last third, 
asa " remnant " in the East, reform their government, and in doing so 
conform to the form of the two first thirds, and then the second third 
and the "remnant " or last third, confederate with the seven-horned 
third, and then Armageddon comes on the opening of the seventh seal. 
Prophetic history demands all this, and as far as fulfillment has gone 
these prophetic demands have been met most emphatically. And that 
the unfulfilled demands will be met, no one could doubt who believes 
in the inspiration of the Bible. For these we wait and wait not long. 
In conclusion let it be reiterated and emphasized, that not one soli- 
tary event of the prophecies of this book as indicated under the Seals, 
Trumpets and Vials could possibly transpire until a seven-horned Israel 
should occupy the stage of history, for all — every jot and tittle of the 
contents of the book of Seals must take place after the seven-horned 
lamb receives the roll from the right hand of God. Therefore there 
must exist a seven-horned Israel in history before the book of Seals 
could be placed in her hands for development. For me, at this late day, 
to say to intelligent Bible scholars that this seven-horned lamb is 
purely and rigidly symbolic and not in any sense literal, would be use- 
less, for no one, of even moderate attainments in Biblical literature, 
holds to any other view. And all that we wish to accomplish in these 
concluding remarks is the calling of the attention of the students of 
Bible prophecy to a fulfillment of the prophecy in reference to the rise 
and existence of a seven-horned nation that must answer in history to 
the seven-homed symbolic lamb of prophecy, for the lamb and the 
nation bespoken by it must conform or correspond with each other most 
rigidly. 



THE SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS 
OF REVELATION. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

We now take up as part second, in this, our second 
volume, the consideration of the Seals, Trumpets and Vials 
of Revelation as properly following " Jehovah's Chariot 
Throne," or part second of volume i, for it will be found on 
examination that it was the seven-horned lamb that stood 
in the midst of this chariot throne, that was to open and 
develop the events of the seals. The fourth and fifth chap- 
ters, with throne, lamb, etc., are preparatory and introductory 
to the opening of the seals, and hence all that is to occur 
under the development of the seals belongs strictly to the 
administration of this seven-horned lamb, for nothing in 
all this mighty history could transpire until Christ, as a 
seven-horned ruler, comes upon the stage of time. The 
'lamb here is purely symbolic of an Israel in its unity, as 
He is but one lamb, while His seven horns are as cer- 
tainly symbolic of seven nations, or of Israel in its " com- 
pany of nations." A beast, says Mr. Baldwin, " always 
symbolizes a government of some kind," and a horn is 
universally indicative of civil power. Hence, the lamb 
indicates Israel as a unity and the horns the same Israel in 
her tribal character of sovereign states. 

We consider these Sjals, Trunptts and Vials as seven 
trinities, prophetic and historic, of certain periods in 



64 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

time, and of things or events to transpire and transpiring 
within said periods. "Prophetic/' as to what the seals and 
trumpets announce, in their characters as teachers of coming 
events, and then " historic " in the fulfillment of the same 
by the trumpets and vials. Others have treated the seals, 
trumpets and vials each as separate and distinct — the one 
not dependent upon the other in its development of facts— 
that is, not more so than any one part of inspiration is 
dependent upon or is supported by any other part of the 
same. We shall treat them as specially dependent, one 
upon the other, for the development of the things and 
events contained in each, and hence we consider them as 
seven trinities, and shall treat them as such — that is, no- 
seal as being complete without its corresponding trumpet 
and vial. The seals or doors being opened or unclosed, 
they thereby prospectively and prophetically announce, 
from time to time, coming events. They thus introduce us 
to time future by the successive openings of the doors 
that separate the different periods or apartments of time. 
On the unclosing of said " doors " we are permitted to see 
within, but seeing we do not understand fully the import 
of what we see and hear from within. We see certain 
kinds of horses, as to color, with riders thereon, with bows, 
swords, balances, crowns, etc., and hear certain voices and 
orders or commissions, which taken with the foregoing; 
" sights," seem to point to coming actions and events, but 
in rather an ambiguous manner, so that without further 
light, we would not be able to discern all that was intended 
by the introduction to this or that apartment of time. 
Thus the seals within themselves do not finish any period 
of time. In fact, they only introduce and dimly outline 
the periods and leave the trumpets and vials to carry on 
and finish what they have thus introduced. The trumpets 
follow the opening of the seals of time and command or 
order the execution or development of the things and 



INTROD UCT10N. 65 

events contained in each period, brought dimly to light by 
the previously opened door. And then, in prompt obedi- 
ence to the " orders " of the trumpets, rapid execution by 
the vials begins the development of the periods. 

The vials are therefore wholly historic, or executive ; 
that is, there is nothing beyond the vials' fulfillment or exe- 
cution of that which was at first dimly and prophetically 
brought to light by the opening doors and the after orders 
of the trumpets. The vials finish or wind up the affairs of 
each period, and thus leave them purely historic, while the 
trumpets are both prophetic and historic, and the opening 
seals are only prospective, and hence only prophetic. We 
repeat : The seals being first in the order of time, and set 
before any developed future must be wholly prophetic, 
while the vials being the last of the three, closes each period 
by the actual fulfillment, in execution of that which had 
been prophesied of in the periods, and hence must be his- 
toric; while the trumpets, occupying a middle ground, or 
occurring between the seals and vials, are both prophetic 
and historic; and finally the seals, trumpets and vials, 
as trinities are purely civil, or pertain to national or govern- 
mental affairs, and can by no reasonable construction be 
made to refer to spiritual concerns, except incidentally, as 
necessitated from' man's duality. And that our country is 
largely, very largely interested in them there can be no 
gainsaying. And we affirm that the periods of the seals, 
trumpets and vials numbered one, two, three and four, are 
now historic, and as such belong to the past ; and the fifth 
seal or door that introduces us to the fifth period or apart- 
ment of the time, here divided into seven, is now (fall of 
1865) standing wide open and has been ever since the sur- 
render of Gen. J. E.Johnston, May 20th, 1865. The sixth 
angel has not yet sounded his authoritative trump, com- 
manding and ordering the execution or fulfillment of the 
actions and results of this (the 6th), the most important and 
imomentous of all the preceding seal periods. 



66 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

The sixth period ends thus : " The second woe " — sixth 
seal — "is passed, and behold the third woe" — seventh 
seal — " cometh quickly or hastily "—that is, it very " quickly" 
runs its race and closes the drama of the Seals, Trumpets 
and Vials. 

Mr. Baldwin seems to think that the seventh trumpet era, 
which is the same as the third and last woe, was a long one, 
but quite the reverse is found to be the fact. The trumpet 
and vial period, called the third woe, that was to come 
"quickly," could not be said to have "come" while as yet 
any portion of its time was unfulfilled. It could not mean 
that the seventh Seal, Trumpet and Vial period was to be 
ushered in more " quickly " or suddenly upon the heels of 
its predecessor than any other one of the periods. By no 
means, for each succeeded the other instantaneously. 
There could not, by any possibility, be an interim or hiatus 
in time. At the exact point of time that one moment 
ceases, another begins, so we know that " cometh quickly," 
when spoken of the third and last woe, or seventh trumpet 
era, simply means what it says — that is, that the period 
brought to light by the opening of the seventh seal, and 
further heralded by the seventh trump, and to be finished 
by the seventh vial, was to be a "quick" or short period. 
It embraces or comprehends the time that may be occupied 
in the battle of "Armageddon," or "battle of that great 
day of God Almighty" and its concomitants, so very often 
brought to view in the prophetic scriptures, on the close of 
which battle it is said " the kingdoms of this world are 
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and 
He shall reign forever and ever." 

Thus ends the sixth century decade of time, or six thous- 
andth year of the world, as we suppose. And where the 
grand period subdivided into seven minor periods, marked 
by the seals, shall end, then and there begins or arises the 
millennial, theocratic, democratic, republican, states' rights 



INTRODUCTION. 67 

confederacy. A modern theocratic, democratic, republican, 
states' rights confederacy arises prior to this time — that is, 
July the 4th, 1776 — but is not "millennial" until after the 
close of the seventh seal period — that is, after the close of 
the Armageddon Dattle. When and where the third woe 
ends, then and there the millennium begins. 

We will now, as preparatory to a more regular and system- 
atic manner of getting at the Seals, Trumpets and Vials, 
notice carefully the introduction or opening remarks of the 
Book of Revelation, and then pass over with a few remarks 
the address to the seven churches of Asia, recorded in the 
three first chapters, which will bring us at once to the con- 
sideration of civil or national matters, which are introduced 
in the opening of the fourth chapter, in the development of 
which civil things, the Seals, Trumpets and Vials come up 
regularly. 

BOOK OF REVELATION. 

Mr. Baldwin remarks of this book, that " it consists of a 
set of prophecies addressed to the Christian Church, and 
containing its future history, and also a complete history of 
the poiiti al world." We italicize. He adds : " The style 
of the book is figurative in the most refined degree, and 
involved and enrolled in the most systematic, yet appa- 
rently complicated manner. Nothing can exceed the per- 
fect symmetry of the whole book." 

The book says itself, that it was — is — " a revelation" of 
God the Father, " which He gave unto Jesus Christ, of 
things w T hich were shortly to come to pass," and that " Christ 
sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John," 
and John in turn was " to shew it unto the servants" or 
Christ. The " things " that were " shortly " to come to 
pass were of course "things" that pertained to man on 
earth, and were necessarily two-fold, or spiritual and civil 
in their natures, for such is man to whom they were given — 
that is, the spiritual is incidental to the civil, but still nee- 



68 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

essary from the dual character of man. That this "revela- 
tion " — all of it, from first to last — pertains to earth, is 
manifest, in the first place, from the fact that it was given 
to the servants of Jesus Christ, who were on earth, and sent 
by the hands of John, who is called " a brother and com- 
panion in tribulation" of those to whom he was sent. And, 
in the second place, it is shown to be of earth and time, from 
the fact that it is said " the time is at hand " for the things 
revealed to transpire or come to pass, and if so, it does not 
refer to remote eternity or "things" of the future state. 
And thirdly, because it is declared, "blessed are those that 
read, and they that hear, and they that keep the things 
which are written in this book " of revealment. We suppose 
that the saints in heaven have nothing to do with " read- 
ing," "hearing" and "doing," or "keeping" the things 
contained in this book. And lastly, there is so much — not 
that we should say all — of that which is to transpire, ( r 
come to pass, that smacks so strongly and unmistakably of 
earth and time, and of man in a probationary state of trial 
and "tribulation" — and hence so ui like heaven .or tie 
future state — that we are compelled of force to receive it as 
of things of earth and time. 

We notice the address to the Church was " to the seven 
churches which were in Asia," and if in Asia, of course on 
earth, and as such needed just such an address of admon- 
ishments, threatenings, directions, and encouraging prom- 
ises of rewards to the faithful. " Oh, yes," you will say, 
"the address to the churches most certainly pertains to earth 
and time ," but after the address to the churches closes, we 
hear of " a door being opened in heaven " and of John 
going up to this heaven, and of seeing a throne set in 
heaven, and one sitting on this throne described as no 
mortal man ever appeared, and of beasts and dragons,, 
and most wonderful and unearthly monsters, and a sea of 
glass, etc. None of these you will say belong to earth and 



INTRODUCTION. 69 

time, and if not. they must belong to heaven and eternity. 
In reply to your logical conclusion, we would ask you how 
you would like to spend an eternity in a heaven filled with 
such unheavenly, not to say " unearthly," and hideous 
monsters for your constant companions ? How would you 
like to dwell in a heaven where there seems to reign per- 
petual wars, headed and carried on by persons mounted 
upon white, red, black and pale horses, and armed with 
bows, swords, etc., and followed in their destructive course 
by " death and hell ?" How would you like to dwell in a 
heaven where huge mountains are torn from their strong 
foundations, set on fire, and then hurled into the midst of 
the sea? Would you not be terrified almost to stupefac- 
tion at seeing the seas and rivers of heaven turned to blood 
and made bitter as wormwood? How would an ''earth- 
quake " — not that we should say a heavenquake — " such as 
was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an 
earthquake and so great — how, we say, would such affect 
you ? Would you be very calm and altogether unmoved ? 
Suppose the "islands and mountains" of heaven "should 
flee away so as not to be found," and " a great hail out of 
heaven" (what heaven should this hail descend from if this 
was to be in heaven ?) " should fall upon men, every stone 
of which was about the weight of a talent ?" Would 
you not be disposed to change such a heaven for your old 
home, the earth ? And then, think of a woman standing 
in the court of heaverf ready to be delivered of a child, and 
" a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, 
and seven crowns upon his heads, whose tail in its sweep 
brushes from the heavens (what heavens ?) the third part of 
the stars and casts them to the earth" — think, we'say, of this 
"unearthly monster" standing in the court of heaven be- 
fore a woman in labor, " ready to devour her child as soon 
as it was born." But we forbear as it would be useless and 
would perhaps shock sensitive nerves to pursue this heav- 



70 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

enly (?) rehearsal any further. There is too much " death 
and hell," " thunder and lightning," " blood and fire," 
" earthquakes and hail," etc., to suit us as a place of eternal 
rest. Let those who believe in such a heaven seek for it if 
they like, for ourself "we seek a better country." 

We return, and .wish you to bear in mind that we are yet 
upon the opening or introductory remarks of the Book of 
Revelations. The foregoing are some of the " things " that 
were " shortly to come to pass." To mention them all 
would require a transcript of the book. This is not neces- 
sary as you have a copy. We only wish to fasten upon 
your mind the fact that the " things," actions, times, 
events, etc., that are here symbolically given us by inspi- 
ration in this Book of Revelation, were all actually to occur \ 
or take place at some period in time, and each in its own 
time and in some place symbolically known as " heaven/ 
If it all belongs to heaven, or the future state, then we have 
no business with the matters and things treated of, and shall 
not trouble ourselves about them, for we profess to " be 
seeking a better country," and a better state of things than is 
here brought to light ; not that there is not much that is very,, 
very good developed in this book, amidst the vast amount 
of evil, for let it be remembered that the " wars and rumors 
of wars " here brought to view, are wars or contests 
between right and wrong, good and evil, truth and error, 
God and the Devil. And that God, on the side of truth, 
against the Devil and error, will prevail, and " the king- 
doms of this world " — or heaven, where Michael and his. 
angels fought, and the Devil and his angels fought and 
prevailed not — -will become the kingdoms of our Lord and 
his Christ, and Lie shall reign forever and ever — that is, 
on this earth, symbolized by " heaven," heaven signify- 
ing elevated, or above a common level, higher than its 
surroundings, either morally or physically. Then if the 
matters and things treated of in this Book of Revelation 



INTRODUCTION. 71 

belongs to a morally elevated and heavenly earth, and we 
so understand each other, we are ready to proceed to the 
further consideration of them. We assume, then, that they 
belong to the "morally" elevated Israel of earth, and to 
time, and addressed to man as a dual creature. First, as a 
spiritual creature, as shown in the term " Church," or 
Churches. Second, as a civil or political creature, as 
shown in the introduction of all the insignia of civil distinc- 
tion in the fourth and following chapters, the address to 
the Churches having closed with the third chapter, thus : 
" He that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith 
unto the churches." Then follows: "and after this" — 
that is, after the address and consideration of Church affairs. 
"After this," says John, " I looked, and, behold, a dWwas 
opened in heaven" In a symbolic heaven as a matter of 
course, and well understood as such, for heaven, the final 
resting place of happy spirits, has neither literal doors, nor 
bars lor closing or unclosing, and by unclosing or intro- 
ducing us to such scenes and sounds as we have already 
objected to as being in heaven above. 

Mr. Baldwin remarks: "This was a symbolic heaven as any 
one can see at a glance," for in the "third heaven" no such 
objects as " beasts " or " doors " exist. The term heaven 
was originally applied by God to the atmosphere or firma- 
ment, and is figuratively used as the ethereal dwelling of 
the true Christian after death ; and on earth, as i?i this case, 
it is variously used to represent sublimity or exaltation, and 
symbolically it represents the place of the Church on earth, 
or the dominion of God on earth, etc. Many passages of 
Scripture teach us this figurative sense of the term. We 
next notice the " door " that opens into this figurative or 
symbolic heaven. If the " heaven " was symbolic, then 
must its " door " also be symbolic. There could not be a 
literal opening to a symbolic apartment. The two must 
correspond or agree in kind. This door that was here 



72 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

opened and gave or offered a view of things not yet seen, 
and unknown to the prophet, was of the same nature as the 
seven seals or doors that we have under particular consid- 
eration. The opening of this door to the prophet, and then 
inviting him to enter, brought him, if he wished it, into the 
political field, or political elemental heaven that was closed 
to him before ; that is, the political elemental heaven of fu- 
ture events and things is laid bare to his heretofore closed 
mind, by the power of inspiration, and he at once sees or 
is capable of seeing all that was to be seen and known of 
this elemental heaven. That is all that he has recorded, 
yea, more, for he understood what " the seven thunders 
uttered," and was about to make a record of it when he 
was instructed not to do so, but to " seal them up." This 
"door," then, being a symbol, symbolizes his heretofore 
closed mind that was now opened by inspiration, and this 
being done he is invited " to come up ;" that is, as he had 
already been very much above the commonality of his fel- 
lowman by " the inspiration " that had heretofore " breathed 
upon him," he is now invited by the same inspiration to 
" take another degree," or " come up hither or higher." 

Now as the whole of the vision is symbolic, then the 
"coming up" must be symbolic also, for it is as much a 
part of the vision as any other fact or thing recorded, for 
we do not suppose that any one will contend that John left 
his Isle of Patmos and in person went up anywhere, much 
less to heaven. Then what does come up hither, or " higher," 
mean? Or, what does it symbolize ? It certainly symbol- 
izes action of some kind, and as we a^ree that he did not 
leave his Patmos in person, then the action of " coming up" 
must have reference to his will. His mind had been 
" opened" as symbolized by the " door; " that is his mind 
had been illuminated by inspiration and thus qualified for 
the duties that would be assigned it if it was willing; and 
now the invitation, for God forces not in such cases. John 



INTRODUCTION. 73 

was a free agent to accept or reject, and he is consulted 
here under the form of a proposal or invitation, for we do 
not view the order to u come up " in any other light than an 
invitation, which he was free to accept or reject. He was 
not consulted about the opening of the " the door in heaven," 
or the enlightenment of his heavenly or elevated mind by 
inspiration, but when the will of a free agent is to be con- 
sidered, it must be invited and then left to accept or reject 
the proposals at pleasure. Then the invitation to " come 
up higher" has reference, we say, to, or symbolizes some 
action on the part of the invited prophet, and as we agree 
that he did not leave his Isle of Patmos in person, it follows 
then that the " action ' of " coming up," or going up, must 
symbolize the action of his will, and being as he ever 
showed himself willing to be counseled and guided by the 
good spirit, we are informed that " immediately he was in 
the spirit," or " immediately " his will yielded to, or accepted 
the proposition to receive the revelation of " things which 
must be hereafter," for that was the proposal : " Come up 
and I will show thee things which must be hereafter." He 
assents, or goes up by an action of his free and untram- 
meled will. It was an "upward " movement, or agoing 
from a lower to a higher position, not of body, but of his 
willing mind. It was a moral elevation that John attained 
to and not a bodily one. 

Every action of acceptance of the propositions or imita- 
tions of God on the part of willing man, is an advance or 
a forward and an upward movement. " Come," or advance 
is the first part of the proposal, and the necessary result of 
qsuch an advance is " upward," as the latter part of the in- 
vitation implies: First, "Come." Secondly, "up." His 
"immediate " yielding or prompt acceptation of God's pro- 
posals places him at once in a new and higher, or more 
heavenly field, where the first thing that meets his mental 



74 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

eye is a " throne set." (See Chariot Throne.*) That is, a 
throne in its proper or upright position, and not a prostrate 
and overturned throne. It stands or sits ready for the 
sovereign to occupy, and then as properly following this 
announcement that the throne was in proper position for a 
seated sovereign, we are next informed that " one sat on 
the throne," and then follows a description of this symbolic 
king or sovereign upon this symbolic throne, within this 
symbolic field or " heaven." And then is mentioned the 
presence of a symbolic "rainbow round about the throne," 
and then twenty-four symbolic " seals " round about the 
throne, and then twenty-four symbolic " elders " or chiefs 
clad in symbolic white, as sitting upon the seats or minor sta- 
tions, as adjuncts to the throne, and then mentions them as 
being crowned, which crowns are also symbolic. And then 
follow " lightnings and thunderings and voices and seven 
lamps, and a sea of glass and four beastsj" etc., and then 
a lamb, with seven horns and eyes, in the midst of all. All of 
which, from the greatest to the smallest, from the first to 
the last, is purely and most strictly symbolic and figurative ; 
just as strictly so as were the seven golden candlesticks and 
seven stars, ch. i, 12, 16. For it is unequivocally and posi- 
tively asserted, ch. i, 20, that " the mystery" (mystery be- 
cause it was a symb >lic representation of the fads which 
John did not understand by these symbols, and hence this 
interpretation or explanation of the seven golden candle- 
sticks and the seven stars that were in the right hand of 
the heavenly messenger) " of the seven stars which thou 
savvest in my right hand. The seven stars are the an- 
gels of the seven churches." And then the mystery^ 
of the seven candlesticks : " The seven candlesticks 
which thou savvest are the seven churches." Now if the inter- 



-* Second part, Volume 1st. 



INTRODUCTION. 75 

pretations here given of the symbolic meaning of the seven 
candlesticks and seven stars may be received as proof of 
the symbolic character of the book in which they are found, 
then are we sustained in saying as above, "that the whole 
vision is symbolic." Mr. Baldwin upon the passage, " the 
heavens departed as a scroll," remarks : " This is a sym- 
bolic representation of the old political world, for afier it 
is gone — that is the heavens — we see men still on earth 
running for shelter. The political world is here to be un- 
derstood by the terms heaven and earth; they are so fre- 
quently used by the old prophets in this sense, that every- 
one is familiar with the proofs. Indeed, if anyone doubts 
that these are symbolic heavens and earths, all we have to 
say is, that he is very simple, for the proofs that they are 
so, are as abundant as could be desired." Of a beast he 
says : " A beast is always used to represent a civil power." 
Then of the seven-horned lamb that was in the midst of 
the throne, he remarks : " The lamb is plainly symbolic of 
the kingdom of Jesus Christ, for a beast universally, in 
Scripture, symbolizes a kingdom." He says, " the sun is a 
symbol of civil government, and the moon is always used 
as a symbol of the church." It is perhaps useless to add 
more at this time upon the symbolic character of the book. 
We will now pass over chapters IV and V, without further 
remark, as we have already given our views upon their 
main features at some length in that part of our work 
styled "Jehovah's Chariot Throne," volume first, to which 
the reader is referred, and will now take up the consideration 
of the Seven Seals, chapter VI, and in connection with them,, 
as is our plan, the Seven Trumpets and Vials. 



.76 . SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 



' CHAPTER II. 

THE SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS OF REVELATION. 

The Seven Seals, Trumpets and Vials of Revelation form 
:seven .trijuti'S that are prophetic and historic of certain 
periods and events in time ; and first, of the book or parch- 
ment roll in which these periods and events are sealed up : 
" And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the 
throne (see Chariot Throne) a book written within and on 
the back side, and sealed with seven seals." This book of 
time and its events is the identical book whose unrevealed 
contents Daniel so much desired to look into, chapter xii, 
8th verse, but it had been sealed, verse 4, and verse 9, 
redeclared, " closed up, and sealed to the time of the end." 
This book or parchment roll was written not only within, 
but also on the back or outside. It was the " within " 
alone that was sealed up in seven different folios or de- 
partments to be successively unsealed. This book was a 
symbolic one, for so the vision in all of its parts, and Daniel 
sought to know its symbolic meaning, but could not, for 
its time was not yet. Then what does this book symbol- 
ize ? Answer. — Nothing in all nature so truthfully and 
forcibly represents time as a parchment roll. So this book 
was a record book of titne — that is, of certain or specific 
time — and it was prophetic as to what was " sealed " and 
" within," and hence was future and awaited fulfillment or 
development by unsealing, and then it becomes of the " out 
side," for the without or " back side " was not sealed and 
was a record of the past, and as such was historic. The 



FIRST SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. IT 

prophetic or sealed future was divided into marked and 
well-defined periods, separated from each other by parti- 
tions or doors called seals or closers, because they stood 
shut or closed just as literal doors in a common house with 
various partitions. The time at which the lamb received 
this book, or more particularly the time when the first seal 
was loosed, we place prior to the battle of Fort Sumter — 
immediately prior. 

Each one of these seal periods, according to our views,. 
has a trumpet attached to it, whose, office it is to annowice 
and order the execution or development of trie periods, and 
also a " vial of wrath " which executes or " pours out " — a 
constant action — to a fulfillment of all the woes or ills of 
each period, and hence makes them historic in their end, 
that were but prophetic under the opening seals. When 
the vial has finished his "pouring," he has finished his 
period that was prophetic, and when ''finished " it is histori- 
cal, and of the " backside " of the book of time. * In the 
address to the churches we have no sealed future for suc- 
cessive unsealing, and we are not warranted in looking for 
any new light in a gospel or spiritual line, and no part of 
the address to the churches could be regarded as prophetic, 
for John was called by a voice from behind him and being 
turned he sees, etc. This point, however, we have argued 
in another part of our work and shall not trouble the reader 
with it here, where we are discussing what are purely the 
civil matters of the civil seal periods, and any spiritual ref- 
erences which may occur are only incidental and necessi- 
tated by man's duality. 

THE FIRST SEAL. 

First Seal, first Trumpet and first Vial form a Trinity 
prophetic and historic of period No. i. 

" And L saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, 
and I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the 



78 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

four beasts saying, come and see." In the introduction 
of these four beasts, in chapter iv, 7th verse, the first 
was a lion, whose station was in the East; the second was 
an ox, whose station was in the West; the third was a man, 
in the South, and the fourth was an eagle in the North. So 
this " voice of thunder" by one of the beasts, must be the 
voice of the first beast, or lion in the East, and so on in 
chronological order, as they are named by one, two, three 
and four, and all of them must be received as the voices of 
civil powers in their respective stations of East, West, 
North and South, for you will bear in mind that a " beast 
is always used to represent a civil power." "And I saw 
and beheld a white horse, and he that sat on him had a 
bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth 
conquering and to conquer." This seal being opened 
simply brings to the prophet's view the things and actions 
that he has recorded. We learn by a horse and his rider 
that they, as symbols, being double, must symbolize organic 
man in a double or two-fold sense— that is, Church and 
State — and by the horse being white, we infer purity and 
justice of the war inaugurated, for by the symbol, "bow," 
we learn that their mission was one of war, for a sword or a 
" bow " as arms, universally symbolizes war or bloodshed, 
and the "crown" as a symbol of sovereignty assures us 
that in their mission of " conquering" they were to " con- 
quer;" and by the lion call to the East, or saying, " come to 
his quarter and see/ we learn that the opening of the 
conflict by this horse and his rider was to be in the east- 
ern portion of some known country — some say of Roman 
Europe, but we say in North America. Thus it will be 
seen that much is symbolically indicated by what we have 
seen and learned from the opening of the door, but still we 
are left much in the dark, and without the further aid of 
the trumpet and vial of the same period, we should never 
learn what was the results of the war inaugurated by the 



FIRST SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, 79 

white horse and his rider, with his bow and crown, for the 
seal being wholly prospective, and hence prophetic, did not 
and could not tell us anything that was done, but only 
symbolically indicated what would be done. 

THE FIRST TRUMPET. 

The trumpet symbolizes a voice or word of authority, 
commanding to be done whatever was designed on the 
opening of the seal should be done, and to continue its 
soundings or words of command until the seal periods were 
each fulfilled, or at least until the finishing vial should be 
ushered in, for it will be remembered that it is said " in the 
days of the voice of the seventh angel, or voice of the 
seventh trumpet, when he shall begin to sound," etc., show- 
ing clearly that the sounding of the trumpet was a cont'm- 
nous action throughout the iC days " or periods for which it 
was set as an authority in command, or set as a " voice " to 
urge on and carry forward to completion the things and 
events of each seal period. The " trumpet," then, but sounds 
to the charge or urges to the accomplishment of the things 
and events that were to occur under the first seal, and 
" sounding," we are informed that u there followed hail and 
fire mingled with blood, and they — the hail and fire and 
blood — were cast upon the earth and a third part of the 
trees was burned up, and all the green grass was burned 
up." The symbols in this passage are hail, fire, blood, earth, 
trees, grass a?id burned up. None of these expressions or 
terms can be received as literal, but only as figurative. The 
"hail, fire and blood" symbolize war just as the " bow" in 
the opened seal had previously done. The trees upon 
which this war was waged were objects of some note, " one- 
third of whom were burned up ' or destroyed. And the 
"green grass" was the mass, and said also to be destroyed 
or overturned in the war here inaugurated or begun by the 
white-horse rider. While the term " earth," as a symbol, 



80 * SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

only represents some certain part of the then habitable 
globe, a part represented the whole, which is very common ; 
or, in this case " earth " represents the lion's Eastern local- 
ity, in some known country, and we say North America. 
Thus the first trumpet sounds to the accomplishment of 
what was to occur under the first seal and then tells us 
more plainly what it was that did occur. And then the 
first vial comes iii, in response to the command or sound of 
the trumpet, and by the execution of its orders gives a 
still more satisfactory exposition of the seal. 

THE FIRST VIAL. 

The first Vial is announced thus : " And I heard a 
great voice out of the temple saying unto the seven angels, 
go your ways" — they had divers " ways" of going; that, 
is, East, West, South or North, " and pour out the Vials of 
the wrath of God upon the earth. And the first angel " 
went East and " poured out his vial upon the " eastern 
" earth ; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon 
the men," called trees, under the Trumpet, " which had the 
mark of the beast upon them," " which worshipped his 
image." Thus the Seals, Trumpets and Vials, as a trinity, 
taken together, make each member of the trinity much 
easier of comprehension, but treated as disconnected, much 
obscurity and want of satisfaction remains. We have by 
this order or arrangement of the Seals, Trumpets and Vials, 
by insoiration, been first introduced to the future periods of 
time uj the opening of the doors, and made to see in part 
prospectively and prophetically what was to occur under the 
same. And secondly, by the Trumpets, the order of exe- 
cution or development of the same. And thirdly, by the 
Vials, a full or complete execution or finishing up of each 
period. The opening Seal, by "bow" and "crown, " as 
figures or symbols, bespeak a war and finally a conquest. 
But upon whom the horse and his rider were to make war 



FIRST SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 81 

with his " bow," or what the extent of his " conquest," in- 
dicated by his " crown," was finally to be, we are not 
informed. The Trumpet comes in and commands or or- 
ders the horse and his rider to the onset or execution of 
that which was designed and dimly shadowed by the 
opened Seal, and then tells us what is the result, but gives 
it to us in the symbolic or figurative terms of " fire, hail 
and blood/ 4 as instruments sent upon " trees and grass " as 
the objects, and " earth " as the locality and the death of 
" one-third of those on the earth." This not being fully 
satisfactory, the Vial in its execution tells us in plain terms 
that " there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the 
men which had the mark of the beast." So the " trees " 
are those men which carry the mark of the beast upon 
them, and "the grass " are those men who worshipped the 
image of the beast. As to this beast and his marked ad- 
herents and numerous worshippers the whole is to be found 
in centralism in the United States. 



82 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE SECOND SEAL. 

The second Sea/, second Trumpet and second Vial form a 
Trinity prophetic and historic of period No. 2. 

"And. when he had opened the second Seal, I heard the 
second beast (ox) say come — to the West — and see; 
and there went out another horse that was red, and power 
was given unto him that sat thereon to take peace from the 
earth — in the West — and that they should kill one another, 
and there was given unto him a great sword." The first 
horse was "white" and his rider held only a "bow" as a 
symbol of blood or war, while the second warrior is 
mounted upon a horse of a more bloody and vengeful caste, 
and he is armed with the more bloody and deadly weapon, 
the sword — even a "great sword." And in his mission to 
the West he is commanded to " take peace from the 
earth " in that quarter, and to set them one against another 
in mortal combat. 

THE SECOND TRUMPET. 

"And the second angel sounded to the charge, or exe- 
cution of the mission of the red-horse rider — in the 
West — and, as it were, a great mountain, burning with fire 
was cast into the sea." Here " a great mountain on fire " 
is synonymous with the " great sword " disclosed by the 
seal, as will be seen by its bloody fruits. " And the third 
part of the sea — symbolic sea — became blood ; and the third 
part of the creatures which were in this — human sea — and 



SECOND SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 83 

had life, died ; and the third part of the ships— com- 
merce — W ere destroyed." This trumpet being very full and 
expressive in its orders to the red horse and his rider with 
the great sword of seal second, the second vial but 
repeats in few words the sum of the above by executing 
the orders of the trumpet. 

THE SECOND VIAL. 

" And the second angel poured his Vial — executive action 
— upon the sea, and the sea became as blood of a dead 
man, and every living soul died in the sea." Mark the 
exact correspondence between the Trumpet and Vial. The 
Trumpet casts or hurls a "b rning mountain " or nation 
into some sea of human beings, and the consequence is the 
third part of the sea becomes blood, and the third part of 
her commerce is destroyed. " Every living soul " — of the 
Vial — that died, can only refer to the "one-third part of the 
creatures as organic," named by the Trumpet, for the 
Trumpet only orders the death of " one-third," and the 
Vial executes " every living soul " of this " one-third." 
And the " creatures " of the Trumpet are shown to be hu- 
man creatures by the expression, "every living soul," not as 
to individuals or persons, but these as organic. This sea, 
then, the one-third of which, as organic, was to be destroyed, 
was a sea of human beings, for the sea is a very common 
symbol of man; and on the other hand, a " mountain " is 
equally as common a figure or symbol of a nation or king- 
dom. We understand, then, by this "burning mountain" 
of the Trumpet being cast into this sea of human lifV, sim- 
ply that one nation from some mountainous region of earth, 
in the fire of its wrath, hurled itself upon or into the midst 
of some maritime or "shipping" nation, in its western 
quarter, and making said "shipping" nation in said quar- 
ter, to become blood, o: makiigitthe bloody field of a 
devastating war, and destro)ing one-third. This is all the 



84 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

work of the red horse and his rider with the " great sword " 
announced by the second beast as to occur in the West. 
Thus again do the Seals, Trumpets and Vials occupy the 
same period in time; that is, the opening door or seal of 
time announces or introduces us to the different periods. 
The Trumpet takes up and amplifies and enlarges by or- 
dering the execution, and the Vial, by executing, winds up 
or finishes the same. The correspondence or agreement 
between the " red horse " and " great sword " of the Seal, 
and the " blood and death " of the Trumpet, and again, 
" blood and death " of the Vial, and of "sea " in Trumpet 
and " sea " in Vial, shows them all three as a trinity refer- 
ring to the same quarter and events, and verifies the cor- 
rectness of grouping them in trinities. 



THIRD SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. S5 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE THIRD SEAL. 

The third Seal, third Trumpet and third Vial form a Trin- 
ity prophetic and historic of period No. 3. 

"And when he had opened the third Seal I heard the 
third beast " — the man in the South — " say, come" — to the 
South — " and see, and lo! I beheld a black horse, and he 
that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I 
heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a meas- 
ure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for 
a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine." The 
color of this horse being "black " and his rider holding in 
his hands only a " pair of balances," it might be questioned 
whether or not his mission was one of war. The ' balan- 
ces," however, being a symbol of justice, we know that jus- 
tice demanded whatever was to be done by this horse and 
his rider ; and his holding the balances in his own hands 
seems to indicate a requirement of conformity to the 
demands of the rider who would himself weigh or mete out 
justice in his Southern quarter of the earth, be it bloody jus- 
tice or otherwise. But since black as a color may indicate 
darkness or heavy gloom, and deep mourning in the South, 
we may reasonably conclude that war and bloodshed would 
be the cause of said gloom and mourning. We will now 
introduce the Trumpet of this Seal and see what light it may 
throw upon the subject. 

THE THIRD TRUMPET. 

" And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star 
from heaven " — prince from the civil firmament — " burning 



S6 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the riv- 
ers, and upon the fountains of waters, and the name of the 
star is called wormwood" — or bitter — " and the third part 
of the waters became wormwood, and many men died of the 
waters, because thev were made bitter." Thus bv the third 
Trumpet we learn largely what were the characi eristics and 
mission of the " black horse" and his rider of Seal third. 
But as the third Vial in its pouring execution adds more we 
will give it at once. 

THE THIRD VIAL. 

" And the third angel poured out — from its beginning to 
its ending — his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters 
and they became blood — bitter above. And I heard 
the angel of the waters say, thou art righteous, O Lord, 
which art, and wast, and shall be, because thou hast judged 
thus; for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, 
and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are 
worthy." Here it is very clear that the third vial, in its 
execution, by repeating almost verbatim the order of the 
trumpet, shows itself to belong strictly to this third period* 
And the trumpet and vial taken together show in a very 
forcible manner what it was that would occur under the 
third seal, or the rule of the black horse and his rider, with 
balances, in the South. The opening seal but announces 
them, and from the color and balances, we naturally 
enough look for bloodshed at the hands of justice. Thus 
the God of justice, in modern times as in days of old, 
chastiseth His own Israel for her sins. The trumpet in 
announcing or ordering the execution, introduces a burning 
star turned loose from the civil firmamental heaven, and 
falling upon the rivers and fountai?is of waters and making 
them bitter, wherefrom death, to organic man, ensued as the 
result. And the vial in obedience to this order is poured 
out, in execution, upon the rivers and fountains of waters 



THIRD SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, . 87 

and they become blood, which was a very " bitter" fulfill- 
ment of the trumpet's order. The " star burning like a 
lamp " and " falling upon the rivers and fountains of waters," 
and making them " bitter," or turning them to " blood," is 
very similar to the " burning mountain that was cast into 
the midst of the sea," and making it " blood," under seal 
second. In fact, the " star ' and " mountain " are both a 
"burning " or anger-heated and furious 'nation, hurled into 
the midst of some maritime nation, in its western locality 
called a " sea" and having " ships; " and again, cast upon 
said nation in its southern locality, and also commercial, 
and strongly marked by u rivers and fountains of waters." 
The effect in both cases was destruction of organized 
human life, marked by " one-third " — that is, one-third of 
the organized civil polities or states. 



SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE FOURTH SEAL. 

The fourth Seal, Trumpet and Vial form a Trinity firo- 
pheiic and hisioj'ic of period No. 4. 

" And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the 
voice of the fourth beast — the eagle in the North — say, 
come — to the North — and see. And I beheld, and lo ! a pale 
horse, and his name that sat upon him was death, and. hell — 
or the grave — followed with him. And power was given 
unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, 
and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the 
earth." The one-fourth that is here placed at the will of 
this pale horse and his rider, is simply giving him dominion 
in this war over the North quarter or over one-fo crth of that 
part of Israel called " earth," the other quarters of East, 
West and South having been given over to the other three 
horses and their riders. He was not to kill " one-fourth," 
but was to kill " one-third " in his fourth of the territory, 
and we find in the sequel he kills " one-third " and not a 
fourth. The prophetic clearness of this Seal is remarkable, 
telling us, in the first place, in the symbolic terms of " pale 
horse," and " death," as the name of his rider, and " hell," 
or more properly the " grave," as following this rider, that 
the overthrow or destruction of human life on a very large 
sade was their joint and united mission. But in the second 
place, less figuratively, or indeed very emphatically, we are 
informed that the mission above w r as one of death in a four- 
fold form, viz., "to kill with the sword, and with hunger or 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 89 

starvation, and with death or diseases, and with the beasts 
of the earth," which last, " by beasts," is figurative of some 
uncommon and cruel mode of warfare that was "beastly," 
or more so than ordinarily. This is all prophetic of what 
was to be accomplished by the pale horse and his rider in 
some northern locality of a country here called " earth." 
The fourth trumpet will now tell us what it was that was 
to be done by " the pale horse and his rider " on our 
northern border or quarter. 

THE FOURTH TRUMPET. 

" And the fourth angel sounded — or ordered the execution 
or fulfillment of that which was proposed by the opened 
seal. And the third part of the sun — the government in 
its unity — was smitten — and the third part of the moon — 
church — and the third part of the stars — states or minor 
civil polities — so as the third part of them was darkened — 
not killed outright, but overthrown — and the day shone not 
for the third part of it, and the night likewise." General, 
political and ecclesiastical darkness reigns for a period, 
marked by a " third of a day and night," over the third part 
of the most luminous nation or state called the " sun," in its 
necessary adjuncts, the minor states or polities of the sun, 
and incidentally over the church in the same field. We 
will now introduce the executing vial and at once see what 
it does and how it corresponds with the above. 

THE FOURTH VIAL. 

"And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun 
and power was given unto him — the vial angel or agency — 
to scorch men with tire," that is, the men organic as states 
or civil polities of this sun system were to be " scorched," or 
visited with whatever was in store for them as shown in the 
" killing with the sword and with hunger, and with dis- 



90 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

ease, and with the beasts of the earth," first prophesied of 
by the opened seal, and then ordered by the trumpet, 
when it is said the sun and moon and stars were to be 
" smitten " as above. And being thus smitten, or scorched 
they repent not, but blaspheme the name of God, as we learn 
from the conclusion of the vial. "And men were scorched 
with great heat — or severely smitten in a four-fold sense — 
and blasphemed the name of God which hath power over 
these — fourfold — plagues. And they repented not, to give 
him glory." Thus the fourth trumpet and vial show most 
clearly that the fourth seal has reference to the "sun " and 
" moon " as a nation of human beings on this earth, in their 
dualities of state and church. 

We have now gone through with the four seals or periods of 
time that have been ushered in or announced by the four 
beasts of loca ity, each one of which in his call of " come 
and see," of course had reference to his locality, for to 
" come " was to go, and where was the prophet called \.o go 
ami see but to the place of the beast that called him. Ezekiel 
mentions these very identical four beasts, "named by name,'' 
and stations the lion in the East, the ox in the West, the 
man in the South and the eagle in the North. Now, John 
in his revelation does not thus station them for that had 
already been done. He simply mentions them in the chro- 
nological order of the lion first, the calf, or ox, second, the 
third as having a man's face, and the fourth like a flying 
eagle. Then we may reasonably — yea, we are forced to the 
conclusion that when the lion calls to " come and see" he 
means that that which was to be seen, or whatever was to 
occur, under the development of the first seal, under the 
white horse and his rider with a bow and crown, was nec- 
es a iiy to be seen or to occur in his field of station; that 
is, in the Eastern portion of some known country, and so 
orr, or in like manner, of the ox in the West, the man in the 
South and the Eagle in the North. 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 91 

We have thus far been attempting to arrange in trinity 
groups the Seals, Trumpets and Vials, and to notice the 
coincidence or correspondence between the Seals, Trum- 
pets and Vials, and not so much their correspondent fulfill- 
ment in history. We have been trying to show that the 
Seals, Trumpets and Vials are prophetic and historic trin- 
ities ; that they each, as Seals, Trumpets, and Vials refer to 
the same period, and events, and that it requires all three 
to express fully whatever was in the mind of inspiration,. 
when it first announced or opened the door to each period. 
The opening only dimly shadowed or brought to view, 
symbolically, the things and events that were to occur 
under the administration or during the development of each 
period, and it requires the trumpets and vials to complete 
each period. 

Having gone through the first four Seals Trumpets and 
Vials, announced by the call of four beasts of locality, and 
no war or bloodshed to occur under the fifth seal, trump 
and vial, we take it that the war and overthrow under 
these four embraces the whole of some known country, for 
four, when viewed in its local aspects of East, West, North 
and South, is always universal or wholly embracing as to 
the country intended. And as the overthrow under the 
first four Seals, Trumpets and Vials, clearly indicates the 
overthrow of only " one-third " of something, this will 
leave as not overthrown two-thirds of the same, and since 
the one-third is wholly or entirely subverted in the East, 
West, North and South, there can be no part of the thus 
defined territory not involved in this seeming conquest, at 
the end of which the war ceases for and during the fifth 
Seal, Trump and Vial period, but at the end of period 
fifth — that is, at the beginning of period sixth — the war is 
reinaugurated, but not upon the quarter already subverted 
under the call to war by the four beasts of locality, but 



92 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

necessarily in that region where the two-thirds not sub- 
verted are to be found. 

Let us now consider historically more particularly the 
matters already passed over by the first four Seals, Trump- 
ets and Vials. We will take it for granted that it will be 
conceded by all intelligent expositors that the things and 
events narrated in the Book of Revelation do not belong to 
ancient Israel, for John, in about A. D. 96, in the Isle of 
Patmos, wrote his prophecy of things shortly to come to 
pass; therefore, every solitary prophetic event noted by him 
was to occur after he penned his revelation. The matters 
in relation to the seven Churches was purely historic, 
and not prophetic, for the voice that John heard calling to 
him was " behind him, and being turned he sees a seven- 
branched candlestick," interpreted to signify the seven 
Churches in Asia. These things were behind him in point 
of time, while the civil matters that follow were wholly 
before him, and hence prophetic. Now, as ancient Israel 
were not those to whom these prophecies refer, we must see 
the necessity of a modern Israel to meet the demands of the 
prophecy, or else the prophecy becomes a dead letter for 
want of an Israel to respond or answer to its demands in 
fulfillment. We affirm, therefore, that there has existed 
a modern Israel ever since the 4J1 of July, 1776, and that 
every jot and tittle of the matters of prophecy contained in 
the Book of Revelation has reference to her, to her off- 
spring, the C. S., and her enemies. This is bold and 
rather dogmatic, but as true as the gospel. Let historic 
fulfillment sustain or condemn us. The first four Seals, 
Trumpets and Vials, as noted by us above, refer exclu- 
sively to the southern quarter of modern Israel — that is, 
the Confederate States of America — embraced by the calls 
of the four beasts. This part of the prophecy is now 
historic — fall of 1865. The overthrow of the confederacy 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 93- 

being accomplished under Seals, Trumpets and Vials Nos. 
i, 2, 3, 4, the war ceases, and Seal, Tramp and Vi.il fifth 
immediately ensue, and during their pendency we are to 
have no war, but ending with the advent of period sixth,. 
the war is reinaugurated and another third overthrown, etc. 
The war that has resulted in the deadi of the confeder- 
acy was inaugurated by her own hands on the opening of 
the first seal. It was a war of necessity on her part, in 
self-defense. She set out in this war under a white horse 
and his rider, armed with the ancient bow of feebleness as 
compared with the armament of her enemies ; but never- 
theless " crowned " and announced as " going forth con- 
quering and to conquer," in the end, which is not yet. The 
white horse that carries forward the crowned conqueror, in- 
dicates the purity and justice of the war inaugurated, when 
driven in self-defense to " strike for liberty, G:>d and our 
native land." At the sound of the first trumpet there fol- 
lowed hail and fire mingled with blood. This, in its incipi- 
ency, was on the 12th of April, 1861, when Gen. Beaure- 
gard opened fire upon Fort Sumter; not that a bloody 
battle then and there ensued, the result of which was the 
death or overthrow of one-third of the states, but that then 
and there a bloody war was inaugurated by the white- 
horse conqueror that was to so result. The first sounding 
of the trumpet but orders the first battle, as it were, and 
the continued sounding from the 12th of April, 1861, to the 
20th of May, 1865, it was that urged on the war to the 
death of the confederacy. This war that has resulted in 
the death of the confederacy was inaugurated in the East 
by a call from the lion, whose station was in the East, fol- 
lowed by a call from the ox in the West, where we find 
anything but a white horse of purity with a corresponding 
rider, but rather a red or bloody, and vengeful horse, with a 
rider of like character, armed with a " great sword ;" and 
this followed bv a call of the man-faced beast in the South, 



94 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

where we see the more despicable black horse and his 
correspondingly exacting rider with the balances of demons 
in his hands ; and last, die eagle of the North calls us to 
behold the horse of the ghastly paleness of a corpse, ridden 
in his fury by one impersonating death, followed in his 
destructive course by hell or the grave ; and by these three, 
as indicating a total want of the character of purity, was the 
confederacy overthrown, but no conquest achieved, for con- 
quest proper rests not upon might but upon right. These 
three double agencies of red, black and ghastly paleness 
are instruments in the hands of God to accomplish his civil 
purposes in regard to the South, and so are they to be in 
reference to the whole United States, and then of the world. 
It is very clear, that notwithstanding the white horse and 
his rider, that opens the contest, are on the side of right in 
the war, civilly considered, yet are they also, with the 
North, charged with corruption or uncleanness; for upon 
the pouring out of the third vial under the black horse and 
his rider, in the South, it is said to the Lord: "Thou art 
righteous because thou hast judged or executed judgment 
thus ; for they — of the South — have shed the blood of thy 
saints and prophets; and I heard another say, even so, Lord 
God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. " 
Hence, we must, and do confess that the results of the war 
to us was and is but the righteous judgments of God upon 
us for our manifold sins, notwithstanding God has used the 
wicked North as willing instruments in his hands to chastise 
his own sinning people, just as he was often wont to do 
in ancient times. How often the children of Israel were 
chastised and carried into captivity by Babylon we need 
not here consider, but we would do well to remember that 
Babylon was never put in the right or justified in her vari- 
ous wars upon Israel; for while Israel was wicked, and 
God-forgetting, yet was Babylon a thousand-fold more so ; 
and God only uses a ready and willing sinner as a " rod " 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 95 

in his fatherly hands to chastise his sinning people, and just 
so has he done in modern times in the western world. 

It will be remembered that ancient Israel never become 
so wicked and abandoned, as individuals, as not to be 
called God's people. Why so? Certainly not GjI's peo- 
ple because like him in personal purity, but His in a national 
or civil sense, as conforming to his civil law, in, at all times, 
ordering their government upon the true theory of the 
nation as originally organized and founded by God under 
the hands of Moses and Joshua. It was always theocratic, 
democratic, republican, states' right and a confederacy, and 
any nation not thus constituted, or ignoring any one of 
these, ignores all and is hence not Israel. He tint offends 
in one point, or violates God's law, spiritual or civil, is said 
to violate all the law. We cannot, in fact, be a subject of 
God's law and yet live in violation of any one of its require- 
ments. His la.v being as a chain of many links, beginning 
and ending in the link of obedience, or subordinate to his 
will, so that the severance of this chain in any one of its links 
is fatal to the whole chain. " He that ktepeth the whole 
law and yet offends in one point," is said to be " guilty of 
all," for he thus sets at naught the God of the law ; for how 
could he be regarded as a subject of God and at the same 
time living in rebellion to his law ? If God's law in its 
entirety is not man's law, then the God of the law is not his 
God. Therefore, any nation ignoring in her civil law the 
link of state sovereignty as effectually ceases to be an 
Israel of God, as if she ignored all of the links in the civil 
chain. She is thus most emphatically not a theocratic, 
democratic, republican, states' right confederacy. She is 
absolutely none of these, and where these are not, we neces- 
sarily have its direct opposite — a centralized, consolidated 
nation, without a God, for a theocracy can only exist in the 
keeping of the laws of Theos. This all to be considered as 
strictly civil, while in a spiritual sense we have nothing of 



96 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS, 

this save God only as an object of religious worship, and to- 
be worshipped, not by the people as a nation, but as indi- 
viduals ^ men women and children. And all who thus wor- 
ship God "in spirit and in truth" are spiritual Israelites,, 
though they may be of the most despotic governments on 
earth or the farthest removed from true civil Israelitish 
governments. A nation may thus be " Gentile" in its civil 
aspects and decidedly Israelitish in a spiritual sense, in its 
individuals of men, women and children ; while another 
nation may be thoroughly Israelitish in a civil sense, as. 
being a theocratic, democratic, republican, states' right con- 
federacy, and yet be " Gentiles" in a spiritual sense in her 
men, women and children. It requires certain well-defined 
things or qualities to constitute a civil Israelite, and some- 
thing else, and very foreign in its nature, to constitute a spir- 
itual Israelite. All can be and should be, and finally will 
be, true Israelites in a dual or two-fold sense. In St. Paul's 
day there was not wanting true and tried Israelites in a 
national point of view, for they were all circumcised in the 
ilesh and subscribed to their form of government as organ- 
ize i by God under Joshua. But there were multitudes of 
these true civil Jews, that were wholy wanting in a spiritual 
sense, and Paul tells them that he is not a Jew inwardly 
simply because he is one outwardly, or in a national point 
of view, and that circumcision in an outward or national 
sense was of no avail in a spiritual sense, and hence he 
urges the great necessity of heart circumcision. Spiritual 
covenants are not written upon tables of stone and in thenv 
embracing the people as a whole nation and demanding 
each and every one to submit to circumcision in the flesh. 
Spiritual covenants exist only by and between God on the 
one part and each and every individual in his or her own 
individuality on the other part, in which each one, as a 
seal of this covenant is circumcised in heart, just as Abra- 
ham was before he was circumcised in the flesh. 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 97 

This much we deem proper to say just here, that we be 
clearly understood, when and while discussing the characters 
of our people North and South, in this war and overthrow of 
the South, set forth under the first four Seals, Trumpets and 
Vials of Revelation. And we will do well not to lose sight 
of this dual character of man, as seen in Church and State, 
as we proceed to discuss the remaining seals. Let it be 
remarked just here, that the only conquest or final triumph 
that was to result, would be under the white-horse rider, 
for he is " crowned " at the outset and goes forth conquer- 
ing and to conquest. The white or pure in principle — civil 
purity — will finally triumph, if there be a God of purity, 
which we all accept as a fact. 

None of the three, red, black and pale horse warriors are 
" crowned," and of none of them is it said that they should 
" conquer," but that they should "take peace from the 
earth," or set the people to " kill one another," and with 
exacting " balances" weigh out bloody justice to a sinning 
nation, and "kill with the sword and with hunger, and with 
deathly implements, and with beastly modes of warfare."" 
Now, if there is anything here, or in Trumpets and Vials- 
2, 3 and 4, with their " fire " and " blood " and " worm- 
wood " and " darkness," that is like the triumph of princi- 
ple of right, or of peace and prosperity, we cannot see it; 
but only see in the absence of these, violent, physical, 
demon forces, devastating, destroying, or overturning " one- 
third " of the civil polities of a once pure and happy 
nation. Have they not occasion to rejoice with exceeding 
great joy, and to send gifts to each other, since they have 
overthrown, for the present, those that were their troublers 
and tormentors, by always opposing them in their fiendish 
endeavors to uproot one of the foundation rocks — states' 
rights — of our civil fabric ? Shall their work of overthrow 
stand ? No, it shall not stand. It is not a " conquest," 



98 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS, 

for a conquest always rests on principle of right. The 
overthrow in " might " is not in " right." 

In conclusion of our present remarks on the Seals, 
Trumpets and Vials Nos. i> 2, 3 and 4, we will add that 
while each of these seals must have its separate and distinct 
time of opening, as is clearly indicated by first, second, third 
and fourth, yet are they so closely crowded together in time as 
to barely be discernible. The time of all four of the open- 
ings may be covered by one month or less, and so the 
sounding of the four trumpets and the pouring out of the 
four vials may likewise begin within one month from the 
unloosening of the first seal, and hence thesounding and the 
pouring out of the vials forward from the unloosening of the 
fourth seal becomes simultaneous and universal, or all- 
embracing as to the country involved in the war. Thus 
there is an unremitting and ceaseless sounding of the four 
trumpets and the pouring out of the four vials from East 
to West and from the South to the North from (say within 
one month) after the battle of Fort Sumter to the close of 
the conflict, on the surrender of Gen'l. J. E. Johnston, on 
the 20th of May, 1865. All that was to occur under these 
four Seals, Trumpets and Vials did most certainly transpire 
within these four years and nine days. Thus the four 
periods marked by the opening of the four seals become 
one period from and after the opening of the fourth seal to 
the end of the war, and is followed by the opening of th ; 
fifth seal, during whose pendency we shall have no war — 
that is, no war in modern Israel. Other nations may have 
wars, while in Israel we may have oppression, but no war. 
The length of the present cessation from war, or of period 
number five, is in Scripture language "five month," in 
which they are to vex and torment certain things, but not 
to kill them, and period five ending, the sixth seal is 
unloosened and the demons of war are let loose as;ain to 
devastate and destroy to the overthrowing of a second 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 99 

"one-third" of the States, leaving behind one-third 01 a 
"remnant." The round number of " one-third " need not 
necessarily be regarded as exactly one-third, but nearer 
that than one-fourth or one-half. The States first seceding 
and inaugurating the war were not one-third of the States, for 
only seven are to be found at that point, but at the time of 
her death she is represented as one-third. Ten States are 
unquestioned, which was not one-third, while if Maryland, 
Tennessee and Missouri as seceding States be reckoned, 
would be thirteen or over one-third. The one-third yet to 
secede is set down as ten and the remainder or a remnant 
which may be less than an exact one-third, but more than 
a fourth and less than a half. 



100 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 



CHAPTER VI 



THE FIFTH SEAL. 



The fifth Seal, Trumpet and Vial form a Trinity prophefit 
and historic of period No. 5. 

" And when he had opened the fifth Seal I saw under the 
altar the souls — or lives — of them that were slain for the 
word of God, and for the testimony which they held, and 
they cried with a loud voice." If they could cry with a 
loud voice, then they were not dead as we might at first 
suppose from its being said " they were slain." From this 
we conclude that those souls, or lives, were only in a life- 
suspended state. They once had independent, or inherent 
life, and if so, they could not die literally but only suffer 
suspension ; and from this conclusion we are forced to the 
further conclusion that the souls slain and still living were 
not individual persons, for this is not correct as to personali- 
ties. When a man dies he is dead and not in a condition 
to " cry aloud " for vengeance upon his enemies or upon 
those that had slain him. Then, we still further conclude 
that as it was not individual men, it must necessarily refer 
to some organic theory or polities, either civil or ecclesias- 
tical, or both, for though they were not dead men, yet were 
these slain objects things of men or pertained to men, for so 
the whole of the Book of Revelation. That they were dead or 
life suspended civil polities is further evident from noticing 
what it was they " cried " and from what was said to them. 
"They cried with a loud voice saying, how long, o»h, Lord, 



FIFTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 101 

holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood 
on them that dwell on the earth ? And white robes were 
given unto every one of them and it was said unto them 
that they should rest or wait yet for a little season, until 
their fellow-servants also, and brethren — of like polities — 
that should yet be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. " 
The white robes that were given them by the Lord, 
shows that they were accepted and approved of God, and 
if they were simply individuals or souls of just persons, 
these white robes would admit them into heaven, where we 
suppose there is no restless and loud crying for vengeance 
upon some one that had done them wrong on the earth. 
They were not happy or content notwithstanding they were 
clothed in white and approved of God. They were con- 
fined to some place known as " under the altar," the place 
of ashes. They are now but as " ashes " under the altar 
upon which they had been sacrificed. Nor were they to 
be released yet for a " little season." They were to wait 
until certain brethren of theirs should be " killed as they 
had been," but being killed they and their brethren were 
still alive in some sense. Without further remark to show 
that the lives that were " under the altar " were suspended 
or overthrown civil polities, we will affirm it as a fact, and 
as being the confederate states or one- third killed, seals i, 
2, 3 and 4, and pass on and notice who " their fellow-ser- 
vants and brethren " were, that were yet to be " killed " as 
they had been. Now that their " fellow-servants " were 
not to be killed in this, the fifth seal period, is very certain 
from the fact that orders are positive that no blood shed- 
ding was to occur in this period. The lives or souls under 
the altar belonged to the periods one, two, three and four, 
already considered as killed, and we infer that they were 
not to be released or restored to life during period fifth, now 
under consideration, for they w r ere given white robes as a 
token of their innocence and acceptance with God, and 



102 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

hence an earnest that they should finally be released, for 
which, however, they were to " wait a little season," and 
that season's length was marked by the killing of their 
brethren at some not very distant future time, but not in 
period number five now under consideration ; for no killing 
is to occur in this period, mark that. Now as we hear 
nothing more of the promised restoration of the souls 
under the altar, nor of any killing in the fifth period, yet 
as it was to be an affair of some note, it will be found re- 
corded somewhere, and that " somewhere " is chapter vi,. 
verses 13 and 14, under seal sixth, and those there killed 
are "one-third" of the sun-government, as stated by the 
sixth trumpet, chapter ix, verses 15 and 18 ; and again, ep- 
isodically noted under the trumpet, chapter xi, 13, and 
there called ten parts of the city or government which is 
equivalent to the "one-third." Chapter ix, 15 and 18. 
Thus this killing of the brethren of the souls under the altar 
is very prominently set forth, being given three several 
times as above. First, directly narrated under the opened 
seal, chapter vi, as the result of the earthquake that was to 
(is to) occur ; and secondly, by the trumpets, order, chap- 
ter ix, 15, to slay "the third part of men," and verse 18 
states how or by what instrumentalities this "third part of 
men were killed," while the little book episode, chapter xi, 
13, says that in " the earthquake — before noted, seal six, 
chapter vi, verse 12 — ten parts or ten states of the city or 
nation fell " or ceased to be. Now then, as we have found 
the time or place in prophecy when and where this second 
killing is to take place, we have also found the time of the 
implied resurrection of the souls under the altar, for they 
were required only to v/ait until their brethren should be 
killed as they had been. The killing or death in both of 
the above instances is not to be regarded as the death of 
individual men, but death of the civil polities or man in an 
organized form as nations, who may again attain unto life 



FIFTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 103 

as is clearly shown in the promise to the souls under the 
altar, while to man in his personality of body, soul and 
spirit, when he dies he looks not for a resurrection until the 
judgment of the great day. We have no warrant, there- 
fore, for a restoration to common physical existence, none 
under heaven, while to the souls under the altar, it is clear 
that they are to attain unto life again. White robes being 
given to every one of the souls under the altar, shows that 
there were several life-suspended nationalities and that at 
the time of killing their brethren as above noted, these 
several nationalities will — under the character of " the two 
witnesses " (chapter xi. 3,) — arise as a cloud and ascend up 
to heaven or attain unto the highest possible national 
elevation. 

This seal (five) has introduced us to no " horse and his 
rider," nor " swords," nor " burning mountains," nor " stars 
as lamps falling from heaven," nor in fact anything we can 
see that points to blood and war. Yet the prophet hears 
and sees certain things of symbolic import, some of which 
we have noticed, and will now introduce the fifth trumpet 
for further light upon this period, as we very much need it. 

THE FIFTH TRUMPET. 

" And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from 
heaven." This " star " is shown to be a prince or angel 
from the terms " him " and " he" applied to it, and so the 
seven stars in the right hand of Christ among the Churches 
is said to be " seven angels" or agencies or messengers. 
So this is a symbolic star, falling from or descending from 
the symbolic or political firmamental heaven to earth ; from 
a higher or exalted state to a degraded one. " And to 
him " — this star, prince or angel — " was given the key of 
the bottomless pit and he opened the bottomless pit " — 
not hell — " and there arose a smoke out of the pit, 
as the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and 



104 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

the air were darked by reason of the smoke of the pit, 
and there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth, 
and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the 
earth have power " — all symbolic. " And it was com- 
manded them that they should not hurt the grass of the 
earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree" — certain 
characters of men, as it now says — " but only those men which 
have not the seal of God in their foreheads" Then we are 
to understand by the terms, " grass of the earth," " green 
thing and any tree," that class of men that had the seal of 
God in their foreheads, since it was only those men that 
had not this seal that were to be hurt by this locust army 
from the pit. 

Again, as the persons here brought to light by the sym- 
bols of " grass, green things and trees," are shown to be 
real persons, as well as those men not sealed, so in like 
manner are the symbols, " locusts," to be received as real 
persons. The " key " is a symbol of authority or power to 
enter into some hitherto closed place. The pit symbolizes 
any such closed quarter of earth, or rather a deep place in 
point of character, being of a lotv or debased character, as 
" heaven " signifies, as a symbol, an exalced character or 
quality. "Smoke" as a " cloud " symbolizes vast, moving 
bodies of men, and the locusts " coming out " of this human 
mass is but a further development of the clouds of smoke 
into an army of horse-men, for it is said " the shapes of the 
locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle, and on 
their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold, and their 
faces were as the faces of men," so they were "horse- 
men " " prepared unto battle." No horse was ever " pre- 
pared unto battle " unless he had a rider armed for conflict. 
" And to them it was given that they should not kill them, 
but that they should be tormented five — symbolic — months ; 
and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when 
he striketh a man. " And in those days " — the five months 



FIFTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 105 

of period five — " shall men — unsealed — seek death, and 
shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee 
from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto 
horses prepared unto battle, and on their heads were, as it 
were, crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of 
men, and they " — the horses of these horse-men — " had 
hair as the hair of women, and their teeth " — weapons — 
" were as the teeth of lions " — very destructive. " And 
they had breastplates as it were breastplates of iron " — 
strong defenses — "and the sound of their wings" — loco- 
motive agencies — " was as the sound of chariots of many 
horses running to battle, and they had tails like unto scor- 
pions, and there were stings " — tormenting evils — " in their 
tails, and their power was to hurt men five " — symbolic — 
" months, " but not to kill them. The symbolic " sun " in 
this seal that was darkened was a very luminous nation, 
one-third of whose civil polities had been overthrown, as 
noticed under the first four seals, now waiting as the souls 
under the altar for the death of another third in period six. 
The symbolic "air" that was daikened was nothing more 
nor less than a general gloom, cast over the whole political 
heaven. Observe, not one word is here said of bloodshed 
or killing, but to the very contrary, they were " not to ki'l 
these unsealed men, but to torment them with the torment 
of a scorpion for five months." Let us now pass to the 
very short conclusion of this seal by the fifth vial. 

THE FIFTH VIAL. 

"And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat or 
throne, of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness, 
and they gnawed their tongues for pain and blasphemed 
the God of 1 e iven because of their pains and their sores 
and repented not of their deeds." No blood yet. When the 
seal was opened the " lives under the altar — as the two wit- 
nesses—cried aloud to God for the blood of those that had 



106 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

killed them ; but God said, no, not yet; wait a " little sea- 
son " and then blood shall flow in floods sufficient to avenge 
for all my Israel's wrongs. The " beast " that killed the souls 
under the altar must yet kill their brethren (chapter vi, 1 8 and 
14; and chapter 9, 18; and also chapter n, 13) before his 
day of judgment comes. His cup of iniquity must be full 
to overflowing before the armory of heaven shall be thrown 
wide open as a flood gate uplifted and all tie enginery of 
omnipotence let loose in all its long pent-up fury upon the 
bloody beast — the spirit of centralism — and his willing min- 
ions. It is remarkable that in this trinity period, No. 5, 
that we have just closed, we have discovered no bloody or 
devastating war, while in every other period we are saluted 
with blood, blood, blood — as a symbol of death — at every 
step. And so far from war or bloodshed being covered by 
some dark symbol in period No. 5, we have instead a posi- 
tive order nd to shei blood or kill, but only to torment these 
unsealed men of this " beast " kingdom for " five months, '* 
that is, to torment or vex monarchy, or anti-scriptural, or 
anti-republican, states' right governments. Does not this 
fact prove that we are correct in our grouping the seals, 
trumpets and vials into " trinities ? " If it is not correct to 
do so it is a little remarkable that seal fifth, trumpet fifth, 
and vial fifth are the only ones out of the twenty-one that do 
not disclose blood. 

THE BEAST FROM THE PIT. 

"Babylon," ''Euphrates" and the " beast from the pit," 
are synonymous terms when used as figures of speech, and 
are universally symbolic of monarchy or consolidated central 
governments or kingdoms, and are directly opposed to and 
at war with the diffusive, or widespread, or " dispersive '* 
principles of democratic, republican, states' rights or states* 
sovereignty doctrine, taught by inspiration, when it 
" divided " or " dispersed " the people from the central 



FOURTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 107 

Baylonian despotism that reared its rebellious head heaven- 
ward on the banks of the Euphrates. Here arose, in direct 
rebellion to the order of God to disperse, the first kingdom 
or king's dominion, or one-man-power government, known 
on earth. Here it was, on the banks of the " great river 
Euphrates," that " centralism " had its birth under the 
despot Nimrod; and I wish to impress upon the mind of 
the reader that the " beast from the pit," " Babylon," 
" Euphrates " and " Egypt," are among the most common 
symbolic designations of monarchy, or consolidated govern- 
ments, and its corrupt ally, the Church, and is always 
marked with the disapprobation of God. So watch nar- 
rowly for " Babylon, Euphrates, Egypt and the beast from 
the pit," as we proceed. 



SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE SIXTH SEAL. 

The sixth Seal, Trumpet and Vial constitute a trinity 
J>rophetic and historic of period No. 6. 

We now come to consider the most important and inter- 
esting of all the periods yet noticed, and the seventh, 
which follows " quickly," or quickly passeth away, is not 
less so in its results, but is of such short duration, when 
compared with number six, in whose mighty and absorb- 
ing events and issues we dwell so long, that we are almost 
stupefied with wonder on the one hand, and forgetfulness 
on the other, of the importance of number seven, until 
suddenly we are aroused by the pealing blast of the sev- 
enth trumpet, that gives notice, and at the same time 
orders and directs to the fulfillment of the things of 
period number seven. If we shall prove to be somewhat 
lengthy and more tedious in our remarks upon these 
periods than upon others, the reader will please bear with 
us, for our soul is largely wrapped up in their grand and 
important results. We remark before taking up this 
period that the three last periods of the seven seals, as 
announced by the trumpets, are denominated " woes," for 
on the close of the fourth trumpet it is said, " woe, woe, 
woe, to the inhabitants of earth by reason of the voice of 
the trumpets of three angels which are yet to sound." 
And again, when one of these angels had sounded — that is, 
the fifth just closed — it is added, " one woe is past, and 
behold there are two more woes hereafter " — that is, the 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 109> 

sixth and seventh trumpets and vials, under seals six and 
seven. And again, at the close of the sixth trumpet's 
exposition, it is also added, " the second woe is passed^ 
and behold the third woe," — or seventh Seal, Trumpet and 
Vial period — " cometh quickly." 

UNCLOSING OF THE SIXTH SEAL. 

" And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and 
lo ! there was a great earthquake " — a political earthquake 
in the sun system — " and the sun," or chief political fabric 
of Israel, " became black as sack-cloth of hair" — that is 
black in its wrath, " and the moon " — church — " became 
as blood," or became a bloody persecuting church — < -'and the 
stars of heaven" — states of the sun government — " fall unto 
the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when 
she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven " or sun 
government " departed" — or disparted or separated — "as a 
scroll when it is rolled together " or rather apart, " and 
every mountain and island," polities or states of the dis- 
parted nation " were moved out of their places," but were 
not destroyed or totally overthrown. "And the kings of 
earth and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief 
captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and 
every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks 
of the mountains, and said to the rocks and mountains, fall 
on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the 
throne " — see Chariot Throne, — " and from the wrath of 
the Lamb ; for the great day of His wrath is come, and who 
shall be able to stand ?" Thus the sixth period is intro- 
duced, and darkly shadowed forth in chronological order, 
from its beginning to its end. Its dawn or the first beat of 
its pendulum is announced as an " earthquake," as a 
" great earthquake" — one of no common occurrence. " A 
most stupendous change in the civil and religious constitu- 
tion of the world." — Dr. Clarke. We rather prefer "a 



110 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

most stupendous change in the civil and ecclesiastical ele- 
ments" as " constitution " might be taken for a radical 
change in the organic law, while the " elemental" change 
must always precede a change of organic law, or a change 
of the civil and ecclesiastical polities referred to by the 
preceding earthquake. We will note the events of this 
period in the chronological order in which they are an- 
nounced, for in this order are they to be fulfilled; for when 
" announced," none of them were fulfilled. The announce- 
ment is strictly prophetic of what was to occur ; so when 
it is said " there was a great earthquake," we understand 
that when the door or seal of period six was unclosed, the 
first beat of its pendulum, or the first thing that was to 
occur, would be a " great earthquake " or " a most stu- 
pendous change in the civil and ecclesiastical elements " in 
that region of earth where this seal had its reign. That 
is, in the government called the "sun," one-third oi whose 
states had been overthrown in periods i, 2, 3 and 4. 

First. "A great earthquake " or elemental commotions 
in the civil and ecclesiastical regions of Seal, Trumpet and 
Vial sixth. 

Secondly. The fruits or first results of these elemental 
upheavings are : "The sun " — the government in its unity — 
" becomes black as sack-cloth of hair," that is, black with 
rage or covered up as the sun with a furious storm-cloud, 
to be let loose upon some civil object, or objects, for it 
must war upon its own kind — civil against civil. And its 
blackness also indicates that this sun government no longer 
gives light but rather sheds darkness or gloom over the 
land. 

Thirdly. "The moon — church — becomes as blood," or 
becomes a bloody, persecuting, proscriptive, ecclesiastical 
body. Comment is useless. "He that hath ears to hear, 
let him hear," and " he that hath eyes to see, let him see." 
A hint to the wise is sufficient. 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. Ill 

F< iirthly. " And the stars of heaven fall unto earth, 
even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is 
shaken of a mighty wind.' 7 Dr. Clarke calls these "stars" 
" The gods and goddesses and demigods and deified heroes 
of the Roman Empire," but we place it much nearer our 
own times, even in America. And the " stars " here falling 
from heaven to earth, are very evidently not chief or lead- 
ing persons, as supposed by Dr. Clarke, that held high or 
prominent places in the civil and ecclesiastical firmament 
here called "heaven," but they were of the same nature 
that the " sun and moon " were. This heaven, in other 
words, was made up of the " sun, moon and stars." The 
sun' being the civil luminary in its unity, the moon being 
the ecclesiastical light, and the " stars " the separate states, 
and all as organic. And their falling from a higher to a 
lower state, as is indicated by " from heaven to earth," sig- 
nifies that those once high-minded, high-principled organ- 
isms, civilly and ecclesiastically, have departed from, and 
do now ignore the cardinal principles and doctrines once 
held as fundamental in state and church. "They have 
denied the faith/ and are now of the earth, and as such 
are " sensual and devilish." And what has been the con- 
sequence of all this wide departure from the original land- 
marks, for evidently sun, moon and stars have all alike 
departed ? The sun has become black with wrath, and in- 
stead of shedding civil light, hangs the black pall of night 
over her heavens, and the moon or church is imbuing her 
hands in the blood of her children, and the stars as states 
are the active and procuring agents of all this. What, we 
say, has been the immediate results to the whole civil and 
ecclesiastical sun and moon system ? Answer. 

Fifthly. " The heaven " — sun, moon and star system — 
departed or disparted — that is, sundered or separated the 
system. See Z ichariah, chapter xiv, verse 4, for the same 
event by a different figure. "He that runs may read," 



112 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS, 

therefore we forbear comment, for any not totally blind, can,, 
at a glance, see a fulfillment de?nanded that will soon be met* 
What is the next step in the programme? Answer. 

Sixthly. "And every mountain and island was moved — 
will be— out of its place," that is, every " mountain ,r 
means every state of this former sun system is moved out, 
of its place, moved from off its former foundation of sov- 
ereignty or states' rights. They are not totally overthrown? 
as adjunct polities to the " sun," but have made a decided 
change in their " base," and have become debased by doing 
so. And as to the "islands," they may be but a repetition* 
of civil states. That is, "mountains and islands " may 
mean the same things, as it is very common to thus doubly 
represent by symbols one fact, or if preferred (and I so 
think), the " islands " may hold the same relationship to the 
moon that the " mountains " do to the sun. " Let him that 
readeth understand," and who is there that cannot ? 

Seventhly. " And the kings of the earth," that is, the 
chief persons of state and church, having fallen to " earth " 
from their former " heaven," they are now designated 
kings and chiefs of earth, and as such, are earthly, sensual 
and devilish, and in connection with the kings are named 
their coadjutors and suppliant followers or men- worship- 
pers, viz. : " And the great men and the rich men, and; 
the captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, 
and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the 
rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and 
rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that 
sitteth on the throne " — see Chariot Throne — " and from 
the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is 
come " — will be come at the end of period six — " and who 
shall be able to stand ?" Here in the very last of period 
six are the kings and their company that were formerly of 
the heavenly sun and moon system, from which they were 
degraded to earth, represented as fleeing for shelter, or 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, 113 

calling for protection, or to be sustained by the " moun- 
tains " or states that they had been the means of " moving 
out of their former places or principles," and upon the 
"rocks" or individuals of these mountains. They appeal 
to the last, to a degraded polity to sustain or protect them 
in the final conflict soon to take place. We do not esteem 
this call of the kings as a call for death by the " falling of 
mountains and rocks upon them " as being preferable to 
the wrath that seemed to be impending, but rather as a call 
upon all of their political and ecclesiastical polities and 
people, to rally to their support and defense in this final 
onset of truth against error, for the rocks and mountains 
are as clearly symbolic as any part or thing in the vision. 
"Falling upon" is synonymous with " clothed upon," or 
clothed with the physical power of the states called 
" mountains," and the individuals called " rocks." They 
stood in dread of the final triumph of right, and consequent- 
overthrow of themselves as the representatives of error. 
It is a call for the mustering of all the forces of monarchy 
or Moloch in church and state to test on " Armageddon's 
plain," " legitimacy," or " the divine rights of kings," and 
the succession of St. Peter. This grand rally takes place in 
the last of this, the sixth seal, period, but no order to " for- 
ward march " takes place till the seventh seal is unclosed, 
for the sixth period as closed by the sixth vial, reads thus : 
" And he gathered them together into a place called in the 
Hebrew tongue Armageddon." So the call and rally, or 
the " gathering together " are the last acts of period six. 
We have, as noticed above, seven successive events or ac- 
tions recorded as prophetic of what was to occur under this 
seal, and they must and will occur in the order named by the 
prophet. And the " gathering together on Armageddon's 
plain " is the seventh or last act of the period, and may be 
ten or one hundred years later in time than the first act or 
" great earthquake." This is to be determined alone by 



114 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

fulfillment, or other facts recorded, or by some coincident or 
parallel prophecy. We will now introduce the sealing of 
the twelve tribes of Israel, as preparatory on their part, for 
the battle of the great day or Armageddon ; for all who 
enter that great field of blood are sealed and regularly en- 
rolled on either side. There is to be " no shuffling in 
ranks " on that memorable day. "The servants of God 
were to be sealed or branded in their foreheads. " There 
was to be no mistaking of foe for friend, or friend for foe. 
The hosts of Centralism, Euphrates, Babylon or Moloch 
have on them also a " mark " or " number " or " name ;" 
for it is said of this " beast from the pit," that " he causeth 
all, both small and great, rich and poor, bond and free, 
to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead." 

SEALING OR MARKING OF ISRAELS TRIBAL HOST IN SE VL 

SIXTH. 

This is episodical of seal sixth and is preparatory or is in 
fact an enrollment for Armageddon's bloody field. " And 
after these things " — that is, after the rehearsing of the 
seven successive events of period six, and before the open- 
ing of the door to period seven — for the sealing of Israel 
was preparatory to that opening, just as the call of the 
kings for their minions was preparatory to the same event. 
" After these things I saw four angels" — or agencies or 
messengers. Dr. Clarke says: " Instruments, standing at 
the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the 
earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on 
the sea, nor on any tree," which if it did not, universal 
death would ensue as the natural result, for the vitality ot 
the aniniil and vegetable world is to be found in the air 
or wind. But those four agencies are held back from their 
seeming purpose of death by " another angel or agency 
ascending from the East, having the seal of the living 
God, crying with a loud voice to the four angels to whom 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 115 

it was given to hurt the earth and sea, saying hurt not the 
earth, neither ttie sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the 
servants of our God in their foreheads, and I heard," 
says St. John, " the number of them which were sealed, 
and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four th< u- 
sand of all the tribes of the children of Israel." And wl e i 
the sealing of Israel had been completed, St. John adds: 
u And after this I beheld, and lo 1 a great multitude, which 
no man could number, of all nations and kingdoms and 
people and tongues, stood before the throne" (see Chariot 
Throne) "and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, 
and palms in their hands, and cried with aloud voice, saying, 
salvation to our God, that sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb; and all the angels stood round about the 
throne, and about the elders and four beasts, and fell 
before the throne on their faces and worshipped God, say- 
ing, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and 
honor and power and might, be unto our God forever and 
ever, Amen." And so on to the end of chapter seven. 

Here is an armv sealed of God and clad in white, with 
victorious palms in their hands, marshalled before the 
" Chariot Throne of God," in the midst of which is the 
seven-horned lamb, who is to "lead them unto fountains of 
living water," and to victory on the morrow — or seventh 
seal — over the motley hosts of the bottomless pit, led on by 
the Hebrew Abodon, or the Greek Apollyon. The " great 
multitude which no man could number," who were clad in 
white robes and held palms of victory in their hands," we 
suppose to be peoples of other nations not now of Israel, 
for all Israel is to be formed in the twelve tribes sealed from 
Juda, verse five, to Benjamin, verse eight, while the great 
multitude, verse nine, must be those of other nations that 
hold the true doctrines of Israel as a theocratic, democratic, 
states' rights, republican confederacy. And it is not nec- 
essary to consider them as in America at the time of stand- 



116 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

ing before the throne of God and the lamb. They may- 
exist or be anywhere, for standing with Israel before the 
throne is simply occupying common ground with Israel 
upon the issues involved in the great conflict between right 
and wrong, God and the Devil. Here are all of those 
that are on the side of right, whether of Israel proper or of 
those that hold to her doctrines the world over. 

After the slaying of the " two witnesses," they are 
restored to life again (chapter xi, 12), and this restoration 
of the dual Israel of God to life takes place before they are 
ready for " sealing/' as noticed in chapter vii, for this seal- 
ing was a protection or insurance against death, or being 
" hurt " by the four agencies that held or controlled the 
four winds of heaven, for the order was to " hurt not until 
we seal the servants of our God," after which they were at 
liberty to hurt whatsoever was not sealed as God's; so- 
from this we do know that at the time the sealed Israel 
stood before the Chariot Throne, they had passed through 
their death or life-suspended state of " three and a half 
days " to the two witnesses ; and their brethren killed a 
" little season " later, as the second " one-third," chapter ix, 
verse 18th, not so long a time, and the remnant affrighted, 
chapter xi, verse 13th, as the third and last third of the 
nation, perhaps passed not into thd death state, but simply 
reform their one-third, and all three, as one nation, indica- 
ted by the twelve tribes, stand up before the throne, sealed 
and clad in white, as a token of purity and acceptance, 
and holding the palm of victory (victory over death) they 
are no more subject to death, but ever live to " cry with a 
loud voice, saying, salvation to our God which sitteth upon 
the throne, and unto the Lamb in the midst of the 
throne," and so on to the close of chapter vii, which is 
the end of the sixth seal — that is, " the end," so far as the 
opening seal is concerned, but not the end or all that 
belonged to that seal period, for much waited for the 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 117 

expounding trumpet to set forth, and after it the executive 
vial has somewhat to say or do, all of which belongs to 
the sixth seal period, and so of each and every seal period. 
That the " two witnesses," else called the " two candle- 
sticks," " the two olive trees/' or " the two anointed ones," 
or " the two prophets," are fellow-servants and brethren of 
those killed (chapter vi, verse 13th and 14th, and chapter 
ax, verse 18th), is evident, from the fact that no other death 
or " killing " takes place either in a " little season," or in a 
longer one, and also in the fact that the " killing " in both 
cases was not a death proper, but only a suspension of life, 
and that too only of " their bodies," for the spirits of the 
dead bodies still lived, as we see they " cried with a loud 
voice to God, for the avenging of their blood upon those 
that lived on the earth;" and it was only the "dead bodies" 
that lay for three days and a half in the street of the city, 
while their spirits still lived with or in God. And again, 
in neither case did burial or a removal out of sight take 
place. The bodies, though dead in the case of the two 
witnesses, were still in view, and were not suffered to be 
put into graves or tombs ; and again, as the lives or "souls," 
they were in view, though they were under the altar as 
the ashes of their former selves. 

Knowing that the " two witnesses " and " the souls un- 
der the altar " are the same, their fellow-servants and 
brethren yet to be killed like them, are civil organic bodies 
of men, whose civil existence is to be suspended or 
"killed " by " the beast from the pit," but the life principle 
or spirit that first gave rise or vitality to the organic bodies 
said to be dead, never died, but ever lives, and at the 
voice of God re-enters and revivifies their fallen and dead 
bodies. The life that never dies is one of principles. We 
say then, that the " two witnesses " killed, in chapter xi, 
verse 7 th, was the dual Israel of God that was sealed in the 



113 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

twelve tribes, chapter vii, and that the killing took place 
prior to the sealing, as matter well understood, for they had 
obtained the victory over death at the time they stood 
sealed before the Chariot Throne, and so also of their 
brethren killed a little season later. It matters not if the 
"killing" is recorded in chapter xi, verse 7, while the sealing 
which occurred after the restoration to life from the death 
is recorded in chapter vii, which would seem to place the 
resurrection to life, chapter vii, prior to the killing in chapter 
xi, verse 7, but such is not and cannot be the fact. The death 
in chapter xi, verse 7, must precede the resurrection and 
sealing to life in chapter vii, notwithstanding chapter xi 
seems to be a later record of facts. The difficulty is re- 
moved at once by remembering that the sixth trumpet, 
which begins in chapter ix, verse 13th and termin- 
ates in chapter xi, verse 14th, belongs to, and is explanatory 
of the sixth seal introduced in chapter vi, verse 12. So 
that if the death as recorded in chapter xi, verse 7, and 
also the resurrection recorded in the same chapter, verses 
11 and 12, should both seem to be later in time than the 
sealing in chapter vii, it is only seemingly so, for the whole 
of this trumpet belongs to matters introduced in chapter 
vi, verse 12. And these two special events, that is, the 
killing of one-third in seals 1, 2, 3, 4, and episodically re- 
hearsed, chapter xi, verse 7, and the resurrection of the two 
witnesses — yes, the whole Israel of God occurs in this seal 
period before the cry of the kings, etc., verses 15 and 16, 
chapter vi, for it is evident that this cry and call of the 
kings was occasioned by their beholding this sealed and 
palmed host, which no man could number, standing before 
the Chariot Throne, whose " wheels rolled in fire," and 
upon whose seat sat the enthroned Deity, and in the midst 
of which the seven-horned lamb stood. For their cry is, 
" fall on us and hide — cover or shield — us from the face of 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 119 

Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the 
lamb," who stood in the midst of this Chariot Throne, 
" for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be 
able to stand ?" — seeing that God's sealed and palmed 
or victorious host, innumerable, is to be led on by a seven- 
horned lamb, once mild and inoffensive, but now a " roaring 
Hon." The death, then, of the souls under the altar, occurs 
under seals i, 2, 3, 4, and of their brethren a little season 
later, that is, in seal six, chapter vi, verses 13 and 14, each be- 
ing "one third" of Israel. And their resurrection and sealing 
takes place in period six, and is placed before " the battle 
of that great day of God Almighty." 

The sixth trumpet era ends thus: " The second woe," 
or sixth seal period, " is past, and behold the third woe " — 
seventh seal — " cometh quickly." And it was preparatory 
to this third woe or seventh seal event that the kings call 
for a grand -turnout of all Babylon's marked, sealed and 
numbered hosts to meet the sealed and palmed armies of 
the Umb on the morrow, or seventh seal day, called the 
third woe, which is the last, as it is the most terrific con- 
flict of arms that has or will occur in the annals of the 
world. 

We have pursued this point a little further than at first 
intended, or than may be thought proper by a critical 
observer, since it will come regularly up when we come to 
the sixth trumpet. But we only discussed it here because 
that here in seal sixth the sealing of God's dual Israel takes 
place, immediately after which " a great multitude, which 
no man could number," is mustered with the sealed Israel. 
Those we regard as peoples of other countries, but of our 
faith. 4 

We will pass now to a further consideration of this seal, 
under the trumpet's administration, and bear in mind that 
the trumpets cover the whole fidd of the seal periods. And 
if the two witnesses already killed, as one-third (seals 1, 2, 



120 SEALS, TRUMPETS AJYD VIALS. 

3 and 4), are killed again and resurrected under the sixth 
trumpet, the killing is episodical of the history of seals 1, 2, 
3, 4, for the trumpet necessarily stretches from the begin- 
ning to the close of each seal period; so, by marking the 
chronology of the trumpet, we have it of the seal. 

THE SIXTH TRUMPET AN EXPONENT OF THE SEAL SIX. 

We shall now take up the trumpet of this period and learn 
what we can of the progress of fulfillment under its exe- 
cuting orders, for let it be distinctly borne in mind that all 
that has gone before of this period is strictly prophetic, 
and is to be fulfilled under the administration of the trum- 
pet, even to the pouring out of the last dregs of the vial. 
The trumpet sounds in orders or commands of fulfillment, 
directed, as understood, to the vial, that pours out from the 
beginning to the close of each period, be it long or short. 
So the seven successive or chronological events prophesied 
under this seal, as noted above by us, must meet with fulfill- 
ment after the trumpet has commenced sounding or order- 
ing, and, whether we shall be able to discern the several 
successive fulfillments demanded by prophetic revealment 
of the seal or not, they will all occur, and in the order 
of arrangement given by the seal, as already noticed by us 
from " first to seventh." "And the sixth angel sounded ' — 
or ordered the execution of the prophecies of the seal — 
" and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden 
altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel, which 
had the trumpet, Loose the four angels, or agencies, which 
are bound in the great river Euphrates. " Here is the first 
order, and it is directed to the sixth trumpet angel, showing 
that he it was that was bound to carry forward and super- 
intend the execution or fulfillment of the things and events 
of this period. Here is an imperative order, of fourfold 
authority, as it issues from the four-horned altar. 

'•A horn is always an organic body of power whei used 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 121 

as a symbol." What these four horns were, or what it was 
that they symbolized, we do not pretend to know ; we are 
content with knowing that, as the order emanated from 
an altar which stood before God, it was tantamount to 
an order from God, which indeed it was ; but as to his 
horned instruments, we know them not. And again, as to 
the four angels or agencies that were to be loosed from 
their bonds in Euphratian waters, we are not now prepared 
to give them body or shape. The four angels and four 
horns we turn over to Dr. Baldwin. This much, however, 
we do know, that this " great river Euphrates " is a very 
significant symbol of monarchy or centralism. It is a sym- 
bol of a consolidated one-man-power government, and so 
of Babylon whenever it occurs as a symbol. We have 
cal'ed attention to this fact elsewhere ; but as " Euphrates " 
comes up and holds a very conspicuous office' in this seal 
period, we recall attention to its symbolic significance. Let 
the mind of the reader not travel to Mesopotamia or any 
other special locality in search of a Euphrates. He may 
find it very near at hand, even in America. Monarchy 
has been bound in her agencies, or her four agencies have 
been bound and tram eled, and kept down, in America 
for a season of u three score years and ten," more or less ; 
but at length our people have become so corrupt, so idola- 
trous and God-forgetting, that, like Israel of old, God de- 
termines to chastise us with the same scorpion instruments 
that he did them. How often he " let loose " the angels 
or agencies of monarchy or '• Euphrates " upon his ancient 
Israel is almost useless to enumerate, since the facts are so 
very familiar to all Bible readers. 

In obedience to the order for " loosening," the four angels 
or agencies were loosed, which were prepared or commis- 
sioned, for an hour and a day, and a month, and a year, for 
to say the third part of man." The first work of these 
four agencies was to produce in the sun government dis- 



122 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

cord or elemental strife, styled an " earthquake " in the 
seal, the immediate fruits of which, in the second place, 
would be the gendering of wrathful blackness on the part 
of the government; and thirdly, bloodiness on the part of 
the moon or Church; and fourthly, the descending or cor- 
ruption of the stars, or states, from heaven to earth ; and 
fifthly, the disruption of the government, which once had been 
styled the " sun," from its luminous character; and sixthly , 
the degradation or removal out of their former places of 
the sovereign states of the once luminous sun government; 
and seventh and lastly, the call of the kings for a grand 
rally for Armageddon. The slaying of the two witnesses as 
one-third of the states, chapter xi, verse 7th, episodically 
considered, is not the killing of the '• on^-third " under this 
(sixth) seal. That first killing was accomplished under 
the first four seals jointly, and passed over " again " in the 
little book episode (chapter xi), where the one-third killed 
first was resurrected from beneath the aU?r p where they 
had lain for the five months of period fifth, while the 
" one-third " killed under the sixth seal period is but another 
one-third of the same sun government, leaving in existence 
of the original government one-third as a " remnant." 
The slaying of the one-third in either of tbe two cases 
above does not have reference to man in his individual 
capacity, for no such havoc of human life, in reference to 
the persons of a whole nation, has ever occurred in sacred 
or profane history. It is " one-third " of men in a civil 
capacity of organic states — that is, one-third of the states of 
the sun system at two distinct times — for the whole war 
was directly a civil one, in which, however, the Church is 
largely affected incidentally, but not directly attacked. 
Then, if we find an instance of the slaying or subverting of 
one-third of the civil polities of a nation after the first dis- 
ruption or disportation of said nation, it is all we need look 
for to find a fulfillment of this part of the trumpet. As to 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 123 

the length or duration of the commission of the four Eu- 
phratian agencies — a day, an hour, a month and a year — in 
which to accomplish the subversion of the second one-third, 
we do not know it, and shall pass it over into the hands of 
Dr. Baldwin. 

The trumpet, after stating the mission of these four 
Euphratian angels, and the length of their official reign, 
then tells us the instruments or agents made use of in ef- 
fecting the overthrow or death of this second one-third of 
the civil polities of the once luminous sun government. 
" And the number of the army of the horsemen were two 
hundred thousand thousand, and thus I saw the horses in 
the vision and them that sat on them, having breastplates 
of fire and of jacinth and brimstone ; and the heads of the 
horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths 
issued fire, and smoke, and brimstone ; and by these three 
was the (second) third part of man killed " in their civil 
polities " by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the 
brimstone; for their power is in their mouths and in their 
tails; for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, 
and with them they do hurt." Here w T e have most evidently 
an allusion to our modern mode of warfare, into which gun- 
powder enters so largely. No man in his senses will pre- 
sume to say that these horses with lion heads and poison- 
ous tails, and mouths that vomited fire, smoke and brim- 
stone, and whose power was in their mouths and in their 
tails — muzzle and breech — were anything else than a sym- 
bolical representation of modern war forces, combining or 
uniting the strength and swiftness of the horse and the 
gunpowder department with man, as a guiding genius, sit- 
ting upon or ruling over the whole. If any one is disposed 
to liter alize the foregoing, and not receive it as figurative or 
symbolic, let him begin with the " two hundred thousand 
thousand horsemen," and he at once has an army of two 
hundred millions — " an army," says Dr. Clarke, " that 



124 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

was never yet gotten together from the foundation of the 
world, and one that could not find forage in any part of the 
earth." 

We will not argue this point, since it is generally con- 
ceded by expositors that a symbolic and figurative sense 
must attach to all such passages, and it is our business to 
determine, if we can, what it is that is symbolized by them, 
and then to find a coincident or corresponding historic fact 
that will fully meet the demands of the prophetic symbols 
If historic facts do not even now exist (that is, in period five; 
to meet this symbolic prophecy as to its inquiry of war, 
then we have entirely misinterpreted or misconceived its 
application or symbolic meaning of the figures of war used, 
for by these very agencies or war inquiry was the first 
"one-third" of the states of the sun government over- 
thrown under the joint periods of seals i, 2, 3 and 4. So 
the modern inquiry is the same in both the first and second 
subversion of one-third of the civil state of the sun gov- 
ernment. Who will say we have misconceived the mean- 
ing of these very significant and very plain-speaking sym- 
bols — that is, " plain-speaking " for symbols ; so plain, some 
of them, as to be almost literal, and hence not symbolic — 
viz., " one-third of men killed." Here " men " is sym- 
bolic, and what so appropriate as a symbol for civil organic 
bodies of men as man ? Sovereign man is thus made to 
symbolize his civil state of sovereignty in organic or gov- 
ernmental form. And then, " horsemen " and " army " are 
almost synonymous terms, and point unerringly to war. 
And again, " fire, and smoke, and brimstone " issuing from 
the mouths of those agents, of whom it is said their power 
was in their muzzle and breech ; and that the tails or 
^breeches were " like unto serpents " in their deadly effects ; 
not that the tails of these war agents were like the tails or 
in the form of the serpent, but that they, like the serpents, 
were death-dealing instruments, for in the tail or breech 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 12S 

was the primary death principle lodged. And it is further 
said of these deadly serpent tails or breeches that " they 
had heads, and with them they do hurt." 

Now, at first thought, it sounds a little strange, or out of 
the ordinary course of things, for " fails" to have " heads /" 
but when we come to look at the derivative nature of the 
noun u head," and that tail signifies " the hinder part of 
anything" — " the extremity or last end " — we need not be 
surprised at finding a "head" or protuberance existing or 
arising upon the hinder part of anything. Head does not 
necessarily imply an advance position by any means. A 
head may exist anywhere on a body, since the term head 
is not an original word, but is derived from the Saxon hear 
fan, which signifies to heave or protrude. " To heave or pro- 
trude is simply to rise or swell ; so a rising or swelling is a 
protrusion, a prominence, or knob, a hill, a knoll, anything 
pushed beyond the surrounding and adjacent surface." — 
Webster. So, then, a head, as a noun, signifies the elevated 
part of anything — the top, the uppermost point of a thing, 
a rising, an elevation here or there. — Webster. And in 
connection with this we see that " a cap " likewise signifies 
the top or uppermost, the highest or most prominent part 
of a thing, and especially as a covering for the head or 
swelled part. — Webster. Considering the case thus, we 
shall have no trouble in discovering the legitimacy of 
looking for a head or heaved prominence on the hinder 
part or " tail " of any object, and hence in looking on the 
hinder or breech end of these engines of war for a nipple 
or tubal point of elevation above the surface from which it 
arises, and also in looking for a cap or crowning piece for 
said protuberance. And now may we see the propriety of 
the conclusion, " and with them they do hurt." 

If we have not here a very pointed allusion to a very late 
or a very modern war engine — the small arms, which may 
also embrace the heavier pieces, since they now use the 



126 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

explosive cap or wafer on such — then we are very much 
mistaken ; and, if we are correct, it proves to a demon- 
stration that we are now living in the latter day periods 
(seals No. i to 7), for the small arms in present use, with 
tube and cap, were but very recently introduced as a war or 
death engine, and especially were they very recently 
adopted by the government in the army and navy. Let 
no one smile at our simplicity, or treat lightly our exposi- 
tion of the passage, " tails that had heads, and with them 
they do hurt," unless they are prepared to give us a mo :e 
legitimately critical one. Nothing in all this mighty arma- 
ment or war enginery belongs to ancient times. The bow, sling 
and javelin are among its symbols of war, while the sword, 
batile-ax, etc., marks a later period in time; but instru- 
ments with heads as deadly as lions and tails as venomous 
as serpents, belching forth fire, brimstone and smoke, marks 
a more modern day ; while " heads" or heaved prominences 
upon these tails that had them not at first marks a still 
more modern battle-field, and brings us down to the latter 
days of the nineteenth century. Who that cannot see the 
chronological and progressive war periods by the symbols 
of inspiration ? Even in the seal periods now under con- 
sideration we perceive a progression in her war appliances. 
First, its strength or force is marked by " horsemen " in 
vast numbers; not that this number of horsemen was to 
be found anywhere on earth, or that horse-men alone were in 
use as war agents, but rather that the sixth period opens or 
dawns with war forces of all the kinds in use, which we 
know includes the day of gunpowder — was in its potency 
likened unto two hundred millions of horsemen. The 
horse, then, was the war character, and not so much the 
war instrument of the dawning advent of period six. 

Next in progression, these docile horses are turned into 
the nature of the more ferocious and bloody lion, for " lion 
heads" are given them. They are still "two hundred 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, 127 

thousand thousand," but now lion-like. And thirdly, they 
are armed with fire, and smoke, and brimstone as an addi- 
tion to the horse and lion qualities. Here at one leap we 
add three war agents to the list of death dealers. And we 
are plainly told at this stage of progress in the sixth period 
that the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone, as C7ie, acting 
upon the, missiles of death, drives them at once from the 
mouths of the precedingly noticed war agents — the lion- 
horse — and killed " one-third of the men " or civil polities 
of the sun government in period six, which, mind you, is 
yet to come, for we are now in period five. And then, 
fourthly, in further description of these war agents that set 
out under the character of horses, we see that they had a 
peculiar " tail "given them, and that their " power to kill 
was in their mouths and in their tails." Here the horse 
character, except as to swiftness, is almost entirely lost or 
ignored, for the power of the horse is not " in his mouth 
and tail." But modern invention or discovery has trans- 
formed " two hundred thousand thousand " horses and 
horsemen into " two hundred thousand thousand" demons 
with " lion heads, " and, later, with " serpent tails ; " and 
fifthly, or later still, with heads on these serpent like tails. 
And the whole is finished with the significant assertion that 
with these serpent-like tails, armed with capped heads, 
" they do hurt." Let him that doubts their ability to hurt 
with these, but remember their work of death for the last 
few years in our very midst. 

Remember, we do not say that the gunpowder mode of 
warfare was not in use when the " two hundred thousand 
thousand horsemen " were mustered at the advent of period 
or seal sixth, but understand us distinctly to say that it 
was in use and had been for some time, but that all the en- 
ginery of war at the advent of period six was compara- 
tively as " horses " in character to the more modern ''lion" 
and the yet later " brimstone and fire" character ; and. later 



128 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

still, the serpent tail is added, and last, but not least, the 
" head and cap " surmounting the tail. It is u fire and 
brimstone " from the beginning to the end of the seven pe- 
riods, but fiercer and more destructive as it advances by 
modern invention and discovery. We submit the foregoing 
on the sixth trumpet, and invite a rigid criticism, and will 
now pass on the consideration of the conclusion of chapter 
ix : " And the rest of the men which were not killed by 
these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands r 
that they should not worship devils and idols of gold, and 
silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood ; neither repented 
they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their 
fornication, nor of their thefts." This second " one-third. 
being killed," leaves us only a " remnant " or one-third as 
the " rest not killed." 

I hope it will not be forgotten that we are dealing with 
symbols, and in our exposition of " the one-third part of 
men killed " we considered men in the passage as a 
symbol, and as symbolizing organic, civil bodies of men, 
for history, neither sacred nor profane, will sustain by its 
records the killing of one-third of the population of any 
nation under the sun. The " killing," then, was the killing 
or overthrow of one-third of the civil polities or states of 
the sun government. This being so, the " remnant " not 
killed are those said to be moved out of their former places, 
and are also one-third, and are necessarily of the same nature 
as those said to be killed, and also as parts of the same sun 
system. They are civil organic bodies of civil persons, 
which belong to and form a part of the sun system of sov- 
ereign and separate states. These last, as states, will not 
repent or reform civilly the civil errors of their hands until 
affrighted on the downfall of the second one-third. They 
will still worship civil devils, dogmas and isms from the pit, 
and depart further and yet further from the original land- 
marks of a theocratic, democratic, republican, states' rights- 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 129 

confederacy. They bo;v down to Nebuchadnezzar's great 
image, whose " head was gold, and whose breast and arms 
were silver, and whose belly and thighs were brass," and 
yet, as if this were not enough, they pass over the " iron " 
and worship the baser " stone and wood," and repent not 
of their " murders and sorceries and fornication and thefts," 
but rather glory in them. Verily, as the seal had previ- 
ously prophesied: " Every mountain and island aie moved 
out of their places." The " remnant " not " killed " are 
also a part of " every mountain and island." They will, as 
civil and ecclesiastical polities, have a sickly, impotent 
existence, after the second disportation, being far removed 
from their original " places " as sovereign states and. 
churches. They are no longer on sovereign ground, but 
are mere dependencies, or appendages of centralism. So 
plain is this " that a way-faring man, though he be a fool,, 
need not to err therein." We would fain draw the curtain 
of oblivion over much of recent date, and hide us as to the 
near future, but we cannot, and I suppose it is wisdom that 
has ordered otherwise, who intends that we shall profit by~ 
what has passed and by what will soon transpire, and learn 
to honor heaven by striving to retrieve our lost fortunes and 
reinstate ourselves civilly and ecclesiastically upon the true 
theory of civil and gospel governments, as laid down in 
heaven's charter of human rights. 

THE LITTLE BOOK EPISODE. 

We will now take up the tenth chapter of Revelation,, 
which introduces us to the " little book open," the contents 
of which belong largely as an episode to the sixth trumpet, 
and consequently to the sixth seal period, that we have 
already had under consideration. It, however, being epi- 
sodical, covers or goes over the ground from seal one, to 
the end of trumpet six. Chapter xi, verse 14. And as we 
are in need of more light upon these, the seals one to six, 



130 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

we gladly and thankfully accept the proffered " little book," 
which is not sealed up, but stands " open " ready to reveal 
its wonted information in relation to matters already passed 
over in seals i, 2, 3 and 4, and also in period six. We 
notice first its introduction to the prophet. " And I saw 
a mighty angel or messenger come down from heaven " — 
do not forget the symbolism of John. " Clothed with a 
cloud, and a rainbow was upon or round about his head, 
and his face was, as it were, the sun, and his feet as pillars 
of fire." Symbolic throughout. " And he had in his hand 
a little book open." The Book of Seals that the lamb re- 
ceived from the right hand of God was not " a little book ;" 
it was a sealed record of many years of time. This larger 
sealed book we accept as a symbol of time, and have so 
treated it thus far. No more appropriate symbol of rolling 
time could have been found in all nature than a parchment 
roll, such as was in use in St. John's day. Then as the 
larger book of seals was symbolic of time, so also was the 
" little book, " and compared with the book of seals, the 
one under consideration was a very little or short roll, but 
must be regarded as very special, or as referring to some 
very important events in the periods from one to six inclu- 
sive. 

The very special matters of this little book have already in 
part been set forth under seals 1, 2, 3 and 4, and also in 
seal sixth, chapter ix, but the events of the little book were 
not given a special prominency above that of other things, 
and hence demanded a separate and special notice that 
should enlarge upon what had been said heretofore. Of 
the things that John had been prophesying he was to 
prophesy " again," for so says the angel that gave him the 
little book. In short, an episode is demanded in the case 
of" the one-third killed " under seals 1, 2, 3, 4. The true 
character of office of this " one-third " is not given in full, 
nor is it intimated when they are to be restored to life. 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 131 

True, under seal fifth, it had been said to them, while cry- 
ing from beneath the altar, that they need not look for 
their release until their fellow-servants should be killed as 
they had been, but this seemed not to be sufficiently defi- 
nite, therefore the little book takes up this " one-third," 
giving us their origin or rise, their office and character as 
the " two witnesses " of God, the power conferred upon 
them by God, the length of time they exercised or filled the 
office of teachers, and who it was that made war upon 
them and overcame and killed them, and how long they 
are to remain dead ; and then of their resurrection and 
exaltation to the highest possible civil life, and other 
very important and special occurrences in the blackened 
and degraded sun system, to which the one-third killed 
(seals i, 2, 3,4,) had formerly belonged as sovereign states. 
** And he had in his hand a liitle book ope?i, and he set his 
right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth. " Be- 
fore he utters a word of his authoritative and stunning man- 
date, he signifies, by placing himself upon both sea and land, 
that over them in all their length and breadth was his author- 
ity, and then " he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roar- 
eth," calling attention before he should proclaim the solemn 
matters in hand. " And when he had cried, seven thunders 
uttered their voices" in response, which utterances were 
ordered to be sealed up, and not to be placed on record. 
What the " seven thunders uttered " we have no means of 
knowing, nor is it proper even for us to surmise, since 
inspiration has ordered their sealing, without any intimation 
that they were ever to be unsealed. 

We can only suppose that whatsoever the thunders ut- 
tered belongs to the little book period, since they were 
uttered pending the introduction of the things of the little 
book, and these belonging to modern days and times, we 
know that the utterances of the " seven thunders " belong 
to the same day. " And the angel which I saw stand upon 



132 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

the sea and upon the earth, lifted his hands up to heaven 
and swore by Him that liveth forever and ever, that there 
should be time no longer • but (for) in the days of the voice 
of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the 
mystery of God, should," or shall " be finished as he hath 
declared to his servants, the prophets." Hence, this " fin- 
ishing" of the "mystery," so often declared to the 
" prophets," and by them declared to us, occurring at the 
" beginning " of the seventh trumpet, is the finishing or 
ending of a certain measure or period of time ; for it was 
in reference to this " time being no longer " that the 
" mystery" attaches. Much had been said by the prophets 
of the bondages and deaths, deliverances and resurrections 
of God's Israel in church and state, and in connection 
with these occurrences is given the time or " times " of the 
same ; and among the various deaths and resurrections or 
restorations to national and incidental ecclesiastical life, we 
have a final or " finishing " restoration that is permanent 
and everlasting ; and the " finished " or ending " time " is 
that particular measure of time at the end of which this 
final and everlasting restoration was to occur. Hence, 
" time being no longer " has direct reference to the ending 
of the beforementioned specific time, when and where the 
final restoration of God's dual Israel takes place. And when 
the aforesaid time ends, a new era in time dawns, the first 
measure or beat of which is marked by one thousand 
years of peace and prosperity to God's dual Israel. The 
" mystery being finished," necessarily finishes or ends the 
time in which the mystery was to be finished ; and the 
finishing of any definitely marked time is but the advent or 
dawning of a new measure of time, as the one thousand 
millennial years. The " no longer " does not date at the 
time that the angel " lifted his hands to heaven and swore," 
for after that the revelations of the little book were to take 
place, and then the sounding of the seventh trumpet; and 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 133 

then, in the days of his first sounding, was the mystery to be 
" finished," and that necessarily finished the time referred 
to as " no longer " existing or to exist. 

The prophet now returns from his digression to the little 
book, and says: "The voice which I heard from heaven 
spake to me again and said, go and take the little fol 1 , 
which is open and unsealed, in the hands of the angel 
which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I 
went unto the angel and said unto him, give me the little 
roll. And he said unto me, take it and eat it up, and it 
shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey, but it shall make 
thy belly bitter. And I took the little roll out of the an- 
gel's hand, and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as 
honey; and as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter. 
And he said unto me, "thou must prophesy again" — that is, 
repeat and enlarge or pass over the ground already tra- 
versed — "before many peoples and nations and tongues and 
kings." This prophesying " again " assigned to John was 
to be fulfilled by the Israel to whom he sends the order. 
And they have done so twelve hundred and sixty days and 
have fallen down by the hands of those that they were to 
testify before, who are now exultantly rejoicing over them. 
We will notice first the " eating of the book," which signi- 
fies that he was thus fully possessed of the matters and 
things contained in the book, and that as he had already 
gone over the ground occupied by the little book, he was 
now to go over it " again " and prophesy or teach us more 
fully of matters that belonged to recent events and to the 
latter end of the sixth seal period — matters of very special 
importance to his fellow-servants of Israel, to whom he was 
sent with these revelations of " things shortly to come to 
pass." Secondly, we notice the quality or nature of the 
contents of the book, Its introduction or first fruits or 
first occurrences before its later developments are seen, 



134 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

were to be " sweet as honey " to those to whom it was di- 
rectly sent or referred ; that is, to the dual Israel of God,, 
or " two witnesses," for it was to the " servants " of God 
that the revelation was given. Israel was to find the 
" incipient " or very first beat of the pendulum of the time 
of the little book to be " as sweet as honey.' It had not 
advanced to digestion, but was yet in the mouth of the 
hungry multitude of Israel; but no sooner was the delect- 
able portion swallowed, than it proves to be anything else 
than " honey." " As soon as I had eaten it, my belly 
was bitter " with its digested fruits or results. 

We have thus a very significant preface of the contents 
of the book, and I wonder if there is one well-versed, observ- 
ant man in our land, who is not able to see at a glance a 
veritable and literal fulfillment of this prefatory prophecy. 
But we will pass on to the consideration of the things of 
the book, chapter xi. The first action (after eating by the 
prophet) was a measurement of the dual Israel of God,, 
under the order of the angel, " saying, rise and measure 
the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship 
therein " — that is, measuring a thing signifies to take charge 
of it and care for it, and to see that it is secured or properly 
provided for ; and hence not to measure, is not to care for, 
as it is added : " But the court which is without the tem- 
ple leave out and measure it not, for it is given unto the 
Gentiles," hence we are not careful about it : let the Gen- 
tiles do as they list with the court or country outside of the 
temple or district here severed by measurement. The 
temple, altars and worshipers constitute God's dual Israel; 
hence to measure and care for them was the severing of 
them from the Gentiles and taking charge of His Israel. 
It seems almost useless to argue the point as to whether the 
temple, altars and worshipers are the true dual Israel of 
God or not, since few well-informed will doubt it, when it is 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, 135 

recollected we are in a field of symbols and figures, and 
that St. John wrote of matters to occur at a time when 
there was no temple and altar and worshipers. 

There was once a temple and altar of God with true 
worshipers of God, and they are still used as the recog- 
nized symbols of God's true Israel in Church and State. 
The Israel of God being measured and thus severed from 
their former connections and taken charge of, they are not 
free from troubles and sore calamities, but be their troubles 
and sufferings what they may, they ever know that they 
are God's measured or separated people, and such being the 
case, they will in the end triumph even over death. They 
are no sooner measured and taken charge of than they are 
to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles, and this to be 
continued for forty-two months. " The court without the 
temple is. given unto the Gentiles, and they, the Gentiles, 
to whom the unmeasured part of the nation pertains, shall 
tread the holy city under foot forty and two months." 
" The holy city " every one will recognize as Jerusalem, 
and Jerusalem, the capital city of the nation, is put for the 
true dual nation. There was nothing more common then, 
and there is nothing more common now, than the designa- 
ting of a nation by the name of its capital city. We are in 
the constant habit of making use of symbolic and figurative 
expressions, and no one objects to it, for they are well 
understood as such, and a proper application is made by 
the hearer and reader, and there is an end of it. But when 
the sacred historian speaks he is not allowed by the multi- 
tude to use their own figures of speech. " The holy city" 
was Jerusalem, and Jerusalem in turn was the nation, and 
so the temple, altar, and worshipers that were measured, 
being thus severed by measurement, they are to be trodden 
under foot by the Gentiles or anti-Israelites for forty-two 
months. 

Next we notice: " I will give power unto my two wit- 



136 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

nesses, and they shall prophesy, or teach " — the true doc- 
trines of God — " a thousand, two hundred and three score 
days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, 
and the two candlesticks — or the two prophets — standing 
before the God of the earth." If they stood before or in 
the presence of God they were approved of God and were 
cared for by Him, though they stood up clothed in sack- 
cloth, and taught the true doctrines of God in Church and 
State for 1,260 days. The question is, who or what is it, 
that is here represented by so many double symbols ? 
They are called the " two witnesses," "the two candle- 
sticks," " the two olive trees," the " two prophets," or 
teachers, and elsewhere " Ariel, Ariel," or the double 
city — that is, the double city is " Jerusalem and Mount 
Zion," which last was the city of David. Ask Mr. Baldwin 
to what all these double symbols refer/and he will answer: 
" The dual Israel of God," or God's Israel in Church and 
State. Did you not say that the " holy city," which was to 
be trodden under foot for forty-two months by the Gentiles, 
and also the " temple, altar nnd worshipers," were the 
dual Israel of God ? We did, and repeat it, for such is the 
fact. How many different symbols, then, are used to des- 
ignate the dual Israel of God. We know not, nor is it 
material to our present discussion, as we have already 
cited eight different forms of symbolic designation for the 
Israel of these pages. 

We now call special attention to the length of the tread- 
ing down of the holy city, or dual Israel of God by the 
Gentiles, verse 2 ; and then to the length of the sack- 
cloth prophecy period of the teachers or prophets, in verse 
3. The first, or treading down, was to be for forty-two 
months ; the second, or sackcloth period, was to be twelve 
hundred and sixty days. The two lengths are not the same 
by ^twenty-five or twenty-six days, but both refer to the 
very same period in time, the forty- two months beginning 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 137 

twenty-five or twenty-six days earlier than the twelve hun- 
dred and sixty days of the prophecy of the witnesses. They 
are subjected for forty-two months to the treading down by 
the civil Gentiles, but they, nevertheless, have civil <; power 
given them of God to prophesy," or teach the true civil 
-doctrines of God for the period of twelve hundred and 
sixty days, though it be in sackcloth, or under depressed 
circumstances. The forty-two months of treading down 
begins twenty-five or twenty-six days earlier than the 
twelve hundred and sixty days of sackcloth prophecy, but 
end at the same point of rime (at the death of the true Israel), 
and in them are the " bitter " ingredients of the little book, 
in its digestion in the belly of Israel ; for in John's eating 
the book, we clearly see that it was eaten of Israel, for 
whatever was " sent and signified unto John " he sent unto 
the servants of God. It was strictly Israel's portion of 
" sweet in the mouth and bitter in the belly." John had 
nothing to do with it further than to show w T hat the book 
was to Israel. 

LENGTH OF THE ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY 
DAYS OF SACKCLOTH TEACHING. 

We will now give the solar length of the one thousand 
two hundred and sixty days. If solar time be taken as 
that in which the one thousand two hundred and sixty days 
was to be fulfilled, then we must add two hundred and ten 
days for the Sabbath time, found in one thousand two hun- 
dred and sixty days of secular time, so as to get the full 
amount of solar time, and this addition gives us one thou- 
sand four hundred and seventy solar days, or four years and 
nine days, as 'he time of prophecy in sackcloth of the two 
witnesses. Now this teaching or prophecy ends at the 
slaying, or killing of the " two witnesses," which takes 
place in verse 7, for they prophesy or teach as God's wit- 
ness in church and state, until the "beast from the pit 



138 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

overcomes them and kills them;" that is, in killing the or- 
ganic bodies, but not in killing the spirit which had given 
life to their organic bodies, for it was the " bodies " which 
laid for three and a half days in the street of modern 
Sodom, and at the end of these three and a half days the 
spirit of life from God returns and reanimates their dead 
bodies, and they arise and stand again upon their proper 
base of constitutional, theocratic, democratic, republican, 
states' rights confederation, and then are exalted to the 
firmi mental heaven from which they had been hurled by 
the bloody beast of centralism. They have great civil war 
power to teach during their sackcloth period, for it is said 
that " if any man will hurt them during this time — civil 
war — fire proceedeth out of their mouths and devoureth 
their enemies, and have power to withhold the showers of 
civil prosperity, and to turn civil waters to blood, and to 
smite the earth civilly as often as they will with civil 
plagues;" verses 5 and 6. 

LENGTH OF THREE AND A. HALF DAYS, OR DEATH PERIOD OF 

THE WITNESSES. 

If we take the three and a half days to signify three and 
a half years — for doing which we have Bible authority — it 
will give us twelve hundred and seventy-eight secular days, 
if secular time is intended, to which we must add one- 
seventh more for Sabbath time ; that is, two hundred and 
thirteen days, and this will give us fourteen hundred and 
ninety-one solar days, or four years and thirty days. We 
think, however, that two lengths are necessary to meet the 
demands of the prophecy ; for it is said that the dead 
bodies of the witnesses were to be seen for three and a half 
days lying in the street of Sodom, and after that, or at the 
end of three and a half days, they were to arise and stand 
upon their feet. This covers o?ie action of the witnesses; 
and after they had gotten up from a prostrate to a standing 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 139 

position, " they hear a great voice from heaven, saying unto 
them, come up hither," and in response to this call or invi- 
tation, '• they ascend up to heaven." Now this ascension 
is an entirely different action from the first one of getting 
up on their feet, yet the three and a half days must cover 
both actions, as we have no other measure of time given 
for the two separate actions. And further, there follows 
another action — but not of the witnesses — that occurs " the 
same hour,' chapter xi, verse 13. 

We only here give what is the legitimate length of the 
three and a half days' death of the two witnesses ; its true 
solar length can only be known by fulfillment, or else by 
some coincident, prophecy, or event. The length of th^ 
three and a half days death-period of the witnesses is indi- 
cated by the " five months," length of the fifth seal period, 
for it was said to them when they cried from beneath the 
altar, at the beginning of period five, that they must wait 
for their deliverance until the killing of their brethren 
should occur, which should take place at the end of said 
period five, or which is the same, at the beginning of period 
six ; but of the length of the five months of period five, we 
have no means of knowing save by its fulfillment or the 
beginning or renewal of the war on the opening of seal 
sixth. Then it is that the three and a half days' death ends, 
and then it is the brethren of the two witnesses or fellow- 
servants of the souls under the altar are to be killed, just as 
they had been under Seals, Trumpets and Vials numbered 
1, 2, 3 and 4. 

SODOM AND EGYPT, AND THEIR STREET. 

" And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great 
city which is called by the spirit Sodom and Egypt, where 
also our Lord was crucified or killed." " Sodom and 
Egypt " are common designations of a land or country, and 



140 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

always of corrupt ones, or those averse to God. And as 
they are connected in this passage and called " a city," it 
has reference to a country whose capital, or " great city," 
was as corrupt and Godless as the joint symbols of " Sodom 
and Egypt/' and in whose midst, it is said, " seventeen 
thousand common prostitutes flaunt their unblushing 
shame." And as to our Lord being " crucified " there, it 
presents no difficulty. To " crucify " is simply to kill, and 
as our Lord was not crucified or killed in either " Sodom 
or Egypt," but in Jerusalem, we can see, at once, that it is 
but a figure of speech, used to illustrate a fact. " Our 
Lord " in this passage is a figure, used to illustrate his doc- 
trines, or principles, and those that oppose themselves in 
practice to the principles of Christ, are said to " crucify 
him afresh, and put him to open shame." Where, I would 
ask, are the teachings of the Bible more literally set at 
naught, than in our " modern Sodom." We notice next 
the " street " of this Sodom, in which the two witnesses 
were to lay dead for three and a half days, or years. 
" Street " is from the Latin stratus, which signifies spread 
or strewed ; and " strewed " signifies scattered, or dis- 
persed ; and " spread " signifies extent, expansion. Thus 
it will be seen that the term street, is not confined to the 
narrow pass-ways of a city, but rather to a scattered or 
wide-spread land or country ; and more particularly to its 
scattered or thin settlements, or sparse population ; for strew 
signifies " to spread by scattering; and always applied to 
dry substances separable into parts or particles; as, to strew 
seed in beds." — Webster. The two witnesses, then, were to 
be found dead in that part of the city or land of Sodom, 
that was most sparsely populated or wide-spread in her set- 
tlements. Who that cannot see a historic fulfillment of 
this part of the prophecy in its applicability to the South, 
or Confederate States of America. 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 141 

INDIGNITY TO, AND REJOICING OF THE " BEAST FROM THE 

PIT" OVER THE DEAD ISRAEL OF GOD, OR 

THE TWO WITNESSES. 

il And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and 
nations " — what a mixed multitude of hired mercenaries, 
native and foreign ; and they, the people that hired them — 
" shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and 
shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves." It 
would not suit their fiendish thirst for gloating over a fallen 
champion to " bury their dead out of their sight," and 
there let them rest in peace their appointed time of " three 
and a half days." O, no ! They must keep their dead 
bodies unburied and constantly in sight. They must 
see and narrowly watch them the whole time, that they 
may mock and deride them with taunting insults and 
tyrannize over and oppress them even in death. They 
must drag the fallen Hector in triumph around the land of 
Sodom and make merry and send gifts " and rejoice with 
exceeding great joy." "And they that dwell upon the 
earth " — Sodomic earth — " shall rejoice over them," though 
dead, " and make merry, and shall send gifts one to 
another, because these two prophets or teachers tormented 
or troubled them that dwelt on the— Sodomic — earth." They 
were tormented by the truths taught and advocated by the 
two witnesses, and not otherwise. The doctrine of states' 
rights was death to centralism. See the newspaper written 
and pictorial records of the North from May, 1865, and on, 
and doubt no more. " All such boastings and rejoicings 
are vain/'* for " after three days and a half, the spirit of life 
from God shall enter into them, and they shall stand upon 
their feet again and great fear shall fall upon them which 
see them" and have been seeing them for three and a half 
days. -■ And they shall hear a great voice from heaven 
saying unto them, come up hither" — from whence ye are 



142 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

fallen — "and they shall ascend up to heaven in a cloud" — 
or in a body — " and their enemies shall see them " as- 
cend, as, in the former case, of standing upon their feet. 
They shall witness both actions, but shall not be able to 
prevent either. And not only so, but they shall have " an 
earthquake " or, a Sodom-quake — among themselves at or 
about the time of the ascension of the " cloud of wit- 
nesses," for it is immediately added, " and the same hour 
there will be a great earth — Sodom- — quake, and the tenth 
part — ten parts — of the city — Sodom — shall fall, and in the 
earthquake will be slain of men seven thousand," chapter 
xi, verse 13. And after that event, " the remnant or 
last third " of this Sodomitish city or nation will become 
affrighted and give glory to the God of heaven. So 
some of their wicked works of gloating, tyranny, rejoic- 
ings and merry-making will have to be repented of, and 
they, through fright or fear, return from their chase after 
the demon of power called "centralism" — whose family 
may be styled " legion, for they are many devils " — and 
be made to " give glory to the God of heaven." And this 
being done, it is said: " The second woe is past, and be- 
hold, the third woe cometh quickly " — that is, the things 
of the sixth seal period will be past, so far as the sixth 
trumpet's announcements are concerned. 

There is a vial that yet belongs to this sixth seal period, 
which we will introduce before we close our consideration 
of this very* interesting period. A few remarks may be 
proper just here upon the points of time for the beginnings 
and endings of the particular measures of times of the 
sixth seal period, as explained or given under the sixth 
trumpet by the little book episode. The beginnings of 
prophetic measures are generally most certainly known by 
first finding the endings in fulfillment; and then, by a 
retrospective calculation of the measures, arrive at their 
beginnings. For example, we will suppose that the Con- 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 143 

federate States were, in symbolic language, called the " two 
witnesses," and to be trodden upon by some " beast," 
called a dragon, for forty-two months, or four years and 
one month. And at the same time the confederacy was to 
have power to do certain things — for example, to teach 
authoritatively certain civil and religious rights or princi- 
ples, for four years and nine days, notwithstanding she was 
trodden upon all the while. But at the end of those four 
years and nine days the said beast was to overcome her 
and kill her, and hence end her authoritative teachings. 
Yet in all this might it not be said, at what point of time 
this teaching with "power" began. If we only knew the 
point at which to begin, we could very easily add on the 
twelve hundred and sixty days to find its ending; but this 
not being given, we have to wait for her death, which is 
the ending of the twelve hundred and sixty days of teach- 
ing with " power," and also the ending of the time of forty- 
two months that the "beast" was to tread upon her, for as 
soon as she is dead she ceases to exist as a civil power, 
and hence cannot be trampled upon as a civil teacher of 
power. Now, then, to follow up or carry out the example 
of the confederacy : We know that she ceases to be a 
teacher of any civil authority when she ceased to be and 
when and wh'ere she ceased to be, ceased or ended the 
four years and nine days of the civil teachings, and also 
the four years and one month of the tramping of the 
beast. The only question, then, that remains to be an- 
swered is, when did the confederacy cease as a civil power ? 
The answer is, that the unmistakable throes of death seized 
upon her vitals when, on the 9th of April, 1865, her com- 
manding or chief general* surrendered her northern army to 
General Grant; but that she was still a civil "power" is 
evident, for many of her ablest generals, with their armies, 
were yet in the field. And General Johnston, the next 
most important officer, as to his position and forces, some 
ten or twelve days after the surrender of General Lee, met 



144 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

with General Sherman and proposed or accepted a pro- 
posal for the surrender of all the remaining forces in the 
field. And here, on or about the 20th day of April, virtu- 
ally ended the confederacy. 

Having thus a point of supposed or admitted fulfillment 
of the four years and nine days of " teaching power," and . 
also of the four years and thirty days of treading down by 
the " beast," we have nothing now to do but to date at that 
point, and subtract the four years and nine days, or from 
April 20, 1865, to obtain the point of time at which the 
confederacy began to exercise her authoritative teachings of 
civil rights and principles. This being done, we have but 
to subtract twenty-five or twenty-six days more of time, and 
we are brought to the point from which to date the begin- 
ning of the treading down of the two witnesses by the 
Gentiles, for the forty-two months began twenty-five or 
twenty-six days earlier than the teachings of the confeder- 
acy. We are not seeking to find, by this example, the time 
of the birth or first existence of the confederacy, or dual 
" Israel of God," but only to find the time at which they 
are clothed with additional authority or " power " to teach : 
and next to find out the time when they began to be trod- 
den under foot by the Gentiles. The " two witnesses " ex- 
isted as such before either one of these things or events occur- 
red. How long they may have existed is not our business 
to inquire into just here, since the prophecy of the little 
book says nothing upon this subject, only by deduction ; 
but it is rather our present business to learn, if we can, when 
they received additional authoritative power to prophes/ or 
teach as God's witnesses, and also to find when the Gentiles 
or "beast" fiom the pit began their treading down; 
and this we propose to do upon the plan of the example 
gi vea — that is, to seek for a fulfillment of the death, and 
then trace backward for the two beginnings sought. Now, 
if we suppose we have found a historic fulfillment of the 
death, and trace backward in time the required lengths of 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 145 

years and days, and do not find any coincident events for 
the beginnings sought, we may at once conclude that we 
were in error in our supposed death-point, or else in error in 
our mode of computing the forty-two months and the 
twelve hundred and sixty days, in reducing them to solar 
time. But, on the other hand, if we date the death of the 
witnesses at or on the 20th of April, 1865, and then sub- 
tract the four years and nine days from that time, and find, 
at that point, marked evide?ice of additional authoritative 
teachings on the part of the confederate states, then we are 
safe in saying that right there begins the fulfillment of the 
prophetic length of the twelve hundred and sixty days, or 
four years and nine days of solar time. And that twenty- 
five or twenty-six days before this ascertained beginning of 
the twelve hundred and sixty days of teaching began the 
forty-two months, or four years and one month of treading 
down by the Gentiles. Let us try the subtraction of four 
years and nine days — being the solar length of the twelve 
hundred and sixty secular days — from the 20th of April y 
1865, an d see where Ave arrive, and then see if any pecu- 
liar demonstrations of teaching character or force began at 
the thus ascertained time. We substract four years and 
nine days from the 20th of April, 1865, and obtain the 
12th of April, 1861. 

Now, what is it that is very peculiar and marked in the 
history of the so-called confederacy or " two witnesses " 
that occurred or took place on this ascertained day of April 
12,1861? Answer. On that memorable and never-to-be- 
forgotten day the " two witnesses," under the immediate 
leadership of General Beauregard, began a series of de- 
monstrative civil teaching lessons of forcible power, that 
lasted and ceased not until General Jos. E. Johnston, on 
the beforementioned date, ceased to teach, and then and 
there the " witnesses" ceased to live; and, then and there 
they ceased to be trodden upon by the Gentiles, for the 



146 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

reason that they no longer existed as the " two witnesses " 
or teachers. There could be no trampling upon that which 
did not exist. The " so-called," as to its people, sectional 
and political sentiments may, and do still exist, but as to any 
organic form of power they do not exist, for that is dead, 
dead, dead. " The. Gentiles " may deny " burial " to their 
" dead bodies," and may mock and deride the people and 
their political sentiments of " states' rights" and may "re- 
joice and send gifts to one another," and may in this still 
trample upon the people and principles of the " so-called," 
but upon the organic witnesses, they cannot in this be said 
to be treading, for the witnesses are dead. Now, as this 
" trampling " of the Gentiles " upon the two witnesses " was 
to be for forty-two months, or four years and one month, 
solar time, this trampling must of necessity have commenced 
some twenty-iive or twenty-six days earlier than the time 
set for the beginning of the forceful teachings of the con- 
federacy; for remember, the witnessing and the trampling 
necessarily end at the same time — that is, on the surrender 
of General Johnston about April 20, 1865. So that to 
arrive at the time when the Gentiles began trampling or 
oppressing the organic witnesses we must substract twenty- 
five or twenty-six days from the 12th of April, 1861, or 
battle of Foit Sumter, and this will carry us back to the 
14th or 15th of March, 1861. Let the recorded history of 
the actions of the " powers that be," from about the 14th of 
March, 186 1, to the 12th of April following, speak out 
and say if there was anything in said " actions " that sa- 
vored of trampling upon the confederacy ? And was it 
not this manifest " trampling " that occasioned and necessi- 
iated the authoritative teachings inaugurated on the memor- 
able 12th of April, 1861 ? " The incoming" had had 
just time enough to organize and arrange the " powers that 
be," for a trampling crusade upon the Confederate States, 
when, " forward, march ! " was heard, and a simultaneous 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 147 

trampling begins ; and they make about twenty-five or 
twenty- six solar strides when physical V power was given 
unto the two witnesses/' and they then and there begin to 
exercise " the power given for 1,260 days " or, four years and 
nine days. And from this point sets out " the witnesses " 
in their witnessings or teachings of power or force, and 
the " powers that be," or the Gentiles continue their tramp, 
tramp, tramp, until the 20th of April, 1865, or thereabouts, 
when they cease to tramp for want of something to trample 
upon. And when their tramping ceases, they set up a 
hideous "rejoicing and merry making" that betokens "in- 
toxicated demons." " They rejoice with exceeding great 
joy " over the fallen Hectors ; " for these two prophets had 
sorely tormented these dwellers of earth ; " and now that 
they have succeeded in treading them under foot, their joy 
becomes excessively immoderate, yea, even frantic; for 
say their own writers, " they shriek and howl " like Pande- 
monium on a " bust." And not the least remarkable fea- 
ture of this "• howling pack,'' was that it consisted of * peo- 
ple and kindred, and tongues and nations," imported ex- 
pressly for this trampling crusade ; and now that they have 
accomplished their mission, they form a suitable ingredient 
for this howling orgie. 

But we would remind them in their excessive joy over 
the fallen '-witnesses," that after three and a half days, the 
spirit of life from God, that once animated and gave vital 
force to the now dead, will re-enter their fallen and dead 
bodies, and reanimate and revivify them ; and they shall 
arise from their fallen and dead condition, and stand upon 
their feet, and then ascend to heaven, and all the " howling 
pack" shall not be able to prevent them; for while the 
" two witnesses " are ascending, or at " the same hour," 
chapter xi, verse 13, there will be " a great earthquake " in 
the midst of these " uncircumcised ;" and ten parts of their 
city, " or ten States of this Sodomitish government, will fall; 



148 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

and in this earthquake will be slain seven thousand men." 
And after this dreadful visitation of a righteous God upon 
them for their civil and ecclesiastical iniquities, they will 
become affrighted in their then capacity of a " remnant " or 
fragment of one-third, and be constrained to give glory to 
the God of Heaven, and not as now to glory in " men and 
isms." So we shall look with confidence for our exaltation 
in due time, for " it is for a time appointed " of three and a 
half days, whose solar length we know not. Perhaps some 
critical observer will object to the stress we lay upon the 
word " power," in the commission of the " two witnesses," 
since the word " power " is a supply, and not found in the 
original, for the passage without this supply would read 
thus : " And I will give unto my two witnesses ; and they 
shall teach or testify a thousand, two hundred and three- 
score days, clothed in sackcloth." 

Now it is evident that they were His " witnesses or testi- 
fiers " before this commission issues to them, for they were 
his at that date. How long they had been His " testifiers " 
is not the point in question. The question is, what was 
given His " two witnesses " at this time, that they did not 
possess before ? When they first started into being as His 
testifiers, he certainly clothed them with authority to testify 
or teach His doctrines in Church and State ; but to do so by 
precept and example, or to teach by moral forces alone. 
They were boldly and openly to advocate the truth, and 
defend by proper arguments and practices the same, but to 
go no further than " precept " in teaching, and then by 
"example" or practice to enforce the teachings of the pre- 
cepts or theory. This much they necessarily had, to con- 
stitute them teachers or testifiers in any sense. But a period 
comes up in the history of the witnesses, when they are 
given something which they had not before ; and what 
more could be added to their former authority but some- 
thing of a more potent form, to enforce with "arguments," 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 149 

other than mere theory and words, or yet the more power- 
ful argument of example. 

These agencies, heretofore in us, had failed, and so sig- 
nally had they failed, that the " uncircumcised " embold- 
ened by the success of years of adverse teachings on their 
part, were now moving heaven and earth for twenty-five or 
twenty-six days for an utter extirpation of " the two wit- 
nesses of God " that so tormented them by simply teaching 
God's truths. And at this juncture the witnesses are fur- 
ther authorized or empowered to resist, in a more potent 
form, the adverse teachings of the beast from the pit. And 
this resisting power conferred upon them for their self- 
preservation, and the theory and doctrines that they had 
heretofore taught by moral force, necessarily in its action 
or effects would also be aggressive as well as defensive. 
There is no more certain way of resisting an enemy than 
by warring upon him. Hence we conclude that a "supply" 
was absolutely demanded in this commission to make good 
sense or harmonize the teachings of this passage and its 
kindred fellows, and as our translators have given us the 
word " power," we accept it, but certainly a more definitely 
forcible one would have been more in keeping with the 
fulfillment of the prophecy, for the teachers had " power " 
in their very incipiency, but only moral power. Eut if in 
their after history they are authorized to use physical for- 
ces, then a supply definitely expressing that fact should be 
used instead of " power." That the witnesses had im- 
mense moral power, before they exercised any physical force 
on the 1 2th of April, 1861, is very evident. But that her 
moral power could not sustain her against the physical 
forces brought to bear upon her is equally certain, for moral 
power can only be brought to bear against moral power ; 
and when physical forces are to be met, then physical 
forces must be resorted to for defense or hope of success 
in teaching. Hence it was necessary to give or clothe them 



150 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

with "additional" power, since their moral power had failed 
to accomplish its objects, and as physical power would 
necessarily follow on the failure of the moral — unless God 
would abandon his first purpose or object in giving the 
moral — we can see the necessity of a supply that would ex- 
press that fact. And we propose to supply so as to make 
the commission read thus : "And I will give physical power 
unto my two testifiers and they shall teach, or testify, with 
physical forces for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed 
in sackcloth." 

THE RISE OF THE TWO WITNESSES, ETC. 

Before we take up the vial of this period we will return 
and make a few remarks upon the "sweets and bitters" of 
the little book, and of the times of sweetness and bitter* 
ness, which will necessarily introduce or bring up the time 
that the eater or Israel arose — that is, the two witnesses — 
for, as before remarked, St. John's eating the book was but 
a symbolic eating of it, while those to whom his revelation 
was sent are the true eaters. It was " sent and signified 
unto him, and he sends and signifies unto Christ's ser- 
vants," that is, his dual Israel. And whatsoever this book 
seemed to be to John, in his eating and digesting of it, 
just that very thing it would prove to be to the Israel to 
which it was sent by John. The ioth chapter of Revela- 
tion, in which the little book appears, seems to be intro- 
ductory to the things developed in the nth chapter. 
The prophet is directed to eat the book or put himself in 
possession of its heretofore unsealed but unrevealed con- 
tents of sweet and bitter, after which he is informed that 
he must prophesy "again," of its character or contents, 
" before many peoples and nations, and tongues and 
kings." And this command to him was simply a command 
to those to whom he was sent. In obedience to the com- 
mand, he ate the book and at once he arises and meas, 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 151 

ures — chapter n — God's Israel; or, Israel at once arises 
and measures or separate themselves from the Gentiles. 
This act of the prophet of eating does but represent the 
act of the people in secession. " Measuring," as before 
remarked, is taking charge of, or separating by measure- 
ment a certain favored part from a less favored or more 
objectionable one. " Objectionable " on account of a want 
of conformity on their part to the requirements of God's 
civil law. Hence we see it stated — as soon as the sev- 
erance by measurement is accomplished — that the court 
without the temple, or without the measured district, was 
not to be measured or cared for, " for it is given unto the 
Gentiles," or "uncircumcised Philistines." Now, the first 
act with the prophet as touching the book was to eat it, 
and it proved to be sweet; while the first act under its ad- 
ministration or development in the hands of Israel to 
whom was sent measurement or a severance of Israel from 
the Gentiles by secession. So the measurement, or sever- 
ance with them, comes exactly in place with the eating on 
the part of the prophet. Here, then, in this act of meas- 
urement, or severance by measurement, arose incipiently 
the two witnesses, or dual Israel of God. Was it "sweet,"' 
or was it " bitter ?" You will say that the days of seces- 
sion and organization of the confederate states was " as 
sweet as honey." Civilly considered, it was most delecta- 
ble in the ??wuth or entrance period of the little book. The 
introduction of this little roll or measure of time was de- 
lightful beyond measure, but how long was the sweet pe- 
riod to last ? The prophet says, " as soon as I had eaten 
it my belly was bitter." The " sugar-coated pill" was no 
sooner swallowed, or no sooner in the " belly," than it 
proved to be as bitter as wormwood. It was " sweet " in 
mastication, and on its route of short passage from the 
mouth to the " belly." " Sweet as honey " on the 20th of 



152 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

December, i860, and on the 9th, nth, 20th and 26th of 
January and 1st of February, 1861. And sweet at Mont- 
gomery, Ala., on the 4th of February, 1 861, on its short 
passage to the " belly " of time, which it entered on or 
about the 14th or 15th of March, when the treading down 
of the " uncircumcised " began, and turned the whole into 
gall ; ever since which time it has been " bitter, and only 
bitter, and that continually." And even to-day the bitter 
effects have not been dissipated, nor will they be until after 
the " three and a half days " of the life-suspended state, 
whose length we know not. 

Now that we have gone through the. little book, what 
has it disclosed? It shows, first, a measurement of a part and 
a consequent severance of some nation, and the measured 
part develops itself into the " two witnesses," and the two 
witnesses are warred upon for forty-two months by the 
Gentiles and killed ; and, being killed, as civil states they 
show themselves to be " one-third " of the nation to which 
they formerly belonged — seals one, two, three, four. The 
character of the one-third killed is given as that of God's 
chosen instrument to teach his doctrines in civil things, 
and, incidentally, in ecclesiastical affairs, and that they are 
to remain dead for three and a half days, and then to 
ascend to heaven's heights in a civil sense. And the two- 
thirds, or the states not killed, have been moved out of 
their former places as sovereignties, but not overthrown or 
killed, and shows that they have not repented of their 
enormities, but rather rejoice in the wicked works of their 
hands, but that finally they will disrupt by ten states seced- 
ing, or "falling," "the same hour" that the witnesses 
arise, and the fragment left after this disruption, being one- 
third also, will repent and give glory to God, and will thus 
give us three Israels out of what was a unity at the open- 
ing of the first seal. 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, 153 



OF WHOM DO THE SEALED ISRAEL, SEVENTH CHAPTER, CON- 
SIST ? 

We answer, that the twelve tribes being sealed, we know 
that " all Israel " are there. It is not a divided host at 
that time, be it what it may at this time, or what at the time 
of the second disportation, cnapter vi, verse 14. If it is 
divided now, and again to be divided, it will not be so then. 
It will be recollected that the prophet, chapter xi, verse 1, 
is ordered to " rise and measure, or sever, the temple, altar, 
and worshipers of God," from the balance of Israel, but 
not to measure, or include in his measurement, " the court 
that was without the temple." Now this " court " was as 
much a part of " Israel " as any other ; as much so as the 
temple itself, yet not held so sacred or holy as the temple. 
The temple was peculiarly holy as the designated dwelling 
place of Deity. And the worship in the temple, and the 
worship without, in the court, rank as superior and inferior. 
Now, these two very small points, or spaces, in the whole 
nation — temple and court — are taken to designate the whole 
nation, and being thus designated by superior and inferior, 
or temple and court, God orders the severance of Israel by 
a measurement, or cutting the temple off from the court, 
and the court being much the larger or more numerous 
body of Israel, is then turned over to the Gentiles. Thus 
he divides His " Israel," taking charge of "one-third " him- 
self, and turning two-thirds over to the " uncircumcised," 
or centralism. And then he permits these " uncircum- 
cised " centralists of two-thirds to trample upon His one- 
third for forty two months, and also commissions or em- 
powers His one-third to teach, forcibly or physically, his true 
civil doctrines for twelve hundred and sixty days, at the 
end of which time they are overcome and killed by the 
" uncircumcised " centralists. And after or at the end of 
three and a half days, God's " one-third " arises to life 



154 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

again, at which time, or " the same hour," chapter xi, verse 
13, an earthquake takes place among the two-thirds " un- 
circumcised " — being the court left out — and disparts them 
into two divisions, one of which is designated by " one- 
third," chapter ix, verse 18, and by " ten parts," chapter xi, 
verse 13, and the other one-third by a "remnant " or a frag- 
ment. 

Now, mark you, these three divisions once constituted 
" all Israel." The " temple," the " one-third " first cut off 
from the "two-thirds" in the court, and subsequently, at 
the time above named, this two-thirds found in the court, 
are disparted by an earthquake into ten parts and a 
fragment. Now, then, as these three separate bodies of 
what was once a whole, must, though dissevered, still repre- 
sent or stand for the whole as being " all Israel," and 
the twelve tribes sealed, chapter vii, being also " all Israel," 
we are driven to the inevitable and logical conclusion that 
the three divisions named and the twelve tribes sealed are 
one and the same, as to what they as divisions and tribes 
designate ; that is, they both bespeak the very same Israel, 
but in two vastly different states or conditions, and at two 
necessarily different points of time, since two different con- 
ditions of the same body could not exist at the same 
time. Israel as a civil government, confederate, consisted 
of thirteen tribes, most commonly designated twelve, 
just as the thirteen apostles are most commonly called 
the twelve. This being so, the twelve tribes sealed, 
chapter vii, shows Israel, as there represented, as being her 
proper self, and as having passed through her variously dis- 
severed and broken or fragmentary states, as to her confed- 
erate whole, while the " three divisions " show her as a 
confederacy in a fragmentary state, yet at the same time 
she may consist of three times twelve states or tribes — that 
is; there may be in each one of these three confederacies 
an indefinite number of states. Then we must know that 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 155 

the fragmentary state must precede and cease before the 
twelve tribes and sealed confederate states can issue. Then 
you will ask, since the " one-third " first cut off by the 
measurement or secession under God's order is esteemed 
the true representatives or teachers of God in a civil and 
ecclesiastical sense, and being now dead, are to arise to 
life again after three and a half days from the time of 
their death, what are you to do with the " two-thirds," 
which you call " uncircumcised " centralists, since the 
whole of Israel is represented by the twelve tribes sealed ? 
How, then, are these " uncircumcised " to become " circum- 
cised/' or cease to be Gentiles, and when ? We answer, 
they are to become " circumcised," and hence true Israel- 
ites, in a civil sense, by their own voluntary action or elec- 
tion. Whether superinduced by a proper conception and 
conviction of their duty and consequent rights as sovereign 
individuals, which necessarily leads to and results in a sov- 
ereign state or states, or whether alarmed at the fearful 
strides towards " centralism " or Gentilism shall not have 
a large agency in turning them back to the true fold of 
Israel, we know not. This last we know will effect the re- 
turn of the " remnant " or " tail-end " of Israel now in 
Sodom — for the prophet tells us that when — or " the same 
hour " that — the true Israel, represented by the temple or 
two witnesses, shall arise and ascend to heaven — or, which 
is the same thing, attain to the highest possible political 
elevation — that there is to be a " great earthquake," in 
which ten states, called " parts " of the uncircumcised and 
unmeasured court, or two-thirds left out, "will fall" — that is, 
will fall off from this uncircumcised host to which they 
now belong, and of which they form a part. But when 
they cease their connection with these Sodomites in the 
East the conclusion Is, that they, in that very act, become 
Israelites, for it is quite evident that there is to be a radical 
change to take place in the political complexion of the 



153 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

falling-off ten tribes during this earthquake, since they have 
a war between them and the " remnant," the bloodiness of 
which is characterized by the " slaying of seven thousand 
men." Not that exactly seven thousand are to be killed in 
this war, for it is only a common figure that means — 
though indefinitely — a great slaughter. It might as well 
be taken to mean seventy thousand as seven thousand, 
since it only means a very great human slaughter. After 
which falling-off of the ten tribes, or ten " parts," in this 
bloody contest between centralism and republican states' 
rights, it is said "this remnant," or "tail-end," "becomes 
affrighted and gives glory to the God of heaven." Now 
to do this they must become true, civil Israelites, and the 
conclusion is, that when this most obdurate and corrupt 
" remnant," or latter end of this Sodomish nation, shall be 
constrained through " fright " " to give glory to the God of 
heaven," that the preceding ten tribes must also have 
given glory to the God of heaven, but perhaps less 
through " fright " than a thorough conviction on their part 
that they were in error. So, now that the second and 
third divisions occupy the same political ground, we 
can very easily see how they might, as they must, unite 
their political destinies with the first division of Israel's 
host, overthrown under Seal i, 2, 3 and 4, and episodically 
rehearsed in the little book events. And when this point 
is attained, then God will claim them all as His, and seal 
them as in chapter vii, preparatory to " Armageddon ; " 
hence, we look for ten states in the West to secede before 
there could be that part called a " remnant." And with 
this sealed Israel is also enrolled " a great multitude which 
no man can number." These, we have said, were the per- 
sons of other peoples, or persons of a plurality of civil 
polities ; for these we must look to other nations, for they 
are not here, but they are of us. And when the Lamb 
breaks the seventh seal, and gives one half hour for silent 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 157 

contemplation of the awful scene then and there presented, 
and then orders his trumpet to sound the order of battle, 
then this great multitude, which no man can number, will 
move simultaneously with Israel of the West to the battle 
of that great day of God Almighty. But before this we 
must introduce the vial of this sixth seal period, for no pe- 
riod — we mean of the seven — is finished without its wrath- 
ful vial. 

THE SIXTH VIAL. 

" And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great 
river Euphrates — monarchy or centralism — and the 
waters thereof were dried up, that the way of the kings of 
the East might be prepared. And I saw three unclean 
spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and 
out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the 
false prophet, or teacher." These three unclean spirits, like 
frogs, that came, one out of the dragon's mouth, one out of 
the beast's mouth and one out of the false teacher's mouth, 
represent by mouths, false doctrines of the pit as proceeding 
from these three. " For they — the three false doctrines, or 
frogs — are the spirits of devils working miracles which go 
forth unto the kings of the earth — East above — and of the 
whole world, to gather them — these kings — to the battle of 
that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a 
thief! Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his gar- 
ments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame. And 
h.e — not the three spirits — gathered them together — that is 
His blessed and white robed, sealed and palmed army — into 
a place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." Mark, 
here are two gatherings and two gatherers; one on the part 
of the devil, by means of the " three unclean spirits like frogs, 
that go forth unto the kings of the East and of the whole 
world to gather them to the battle of that great day of God 
Almighty," and the other gathering was by God for he 
first seals and blesses his host, and warns them to " w T atch 



158 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

and keep their garments white." After which it is said, 
" And he — God — gathered them together into a place 
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon/ 1 

One of these armies, I wish you to remember, is from, 
or of, " Euphrates " or " Babylon/' just as you like, and 
also to remember that this Euphratean army, represented 
under the trumpet of this period by "two hundred thou- 
sand thousand horsemen, " was that which, by fire, smoke 
and brimstone, killed the second " one-third " of the civil 
states of the sun system, for it is plainly said that the four 
agencies or instruments that were bound heretofore in 
" Euphrates " were let loose and soon produced an earth- 
quake in the sun system, or nation, and raised these two 
hundred thousand thousand horsemen, and killed the be- 
fore-named " one-third," the first one-third having been 
killed. Seals one, two, three, four. So that the "Devil" 
is the sire of all these designations of monarchy or central- 
ism, and being let loose under the character of the four 
agencies of Euphrates, and triumphing over God's dual 
Israel for a time, are finally, in the latter part of this period, 
represented as calling upon the mountains, or monarchical 
nations under their rule hitherto, to fall on, or clothe 
them with ability or forces sufficient to meet the Lamb 
and his chosen company, for they say, " the great day of 
His wrath is come," that is, " the battle of that great day 
of God Almighty," otherwise called Armageddon, will 
have come, where God gathers together his white-robed,, 
sealed and palmed army. Two armies, then, are here as- 
sembling in the "vale of Jehoshaphat," or "vale of Jehovah- 
judgeth;" one under Euphratean leaders and banners, and 
the other under the Lamb. 

Now, by the angel " pouring his vial of wrath upon the 
great river Euphrates," we learn that it betokens or speaks 
of troubles or disasters in Euphratean waters, in the latter 
or very last part of period six, and his " four agencies " 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL, 159 

that were " let loose " and triumphed in an earlier part of 
this period, are now about to be cut off or " dried up," 
for when the angel had poured out his vial of wrath upon 
the river, it is said, " and the waters " — or supports — " were 
dried up." Not that Euphrates, or monarchy, " was dried 
up," for it was not yet ; but that its waters or streams that 
had given it support heretofore were cut off. " Euphrates " 
was one thing, and its plural of " waters " was another ; 
just as much so as was " Euphrates " and its " four agen- 
cies " under the trumpets. " Euphrates " and its " waters " 
are of the same nature, and so also " Euphrates " and its 
" four agencies " were of the same nature. Her waters 
being cut off, she would inevitably become " dried up " af- 
ter a time, but not immediately on the " cutting off" of the 
supplies. We think that whatever it was, that was called 
her " four angels " in the former case, the same was her 
u waters that were dried up." But this is not material to 
our purpose, and we care not to argue the point, but are 
willing that critical expositors should settle it. The drying 
up of her waters was to the end, " that the way of the 
kings of the East, or whole world, might be prepared." 

Now, what is meant by the " way of the kings of the 
East ?" It does not mean " the king's highway," nor any 
act or thing for the benefit of the kings of the East, for the 
" drying up " we assume, was detrimental to the kings, 
since " Euphrates " is a leading and well-known symbol of 
centralism or monarchy, or of kings' dominion ; so to " dry 
up" the " waters" or supports of "Euphrates" is but to 
" dry up " or cut off those supports of monarchy upon 
which they had heretofore leaned. Now what these 
" waters " or " four agencies " are, upon which monarchy 
has leaned as prominent supports, we have before said, we 
do not pretend to know. Let those who are skilled in 
"legitimacy" and the " divine rights of kings," say. Be 
they what they may, (i the drying up " of these prepares 



160 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

the way of the kings of the East. For after they are dried 
up, the kings resort to new agencies for their sustenance 
and support, and these new means are to result in leading 
them to their overthrow. Now, where does this " way " or 
passage lead the kings of the East ? Their " waters " 
being " dried up " they must seek some new means of 
support or they will soon perish. Legitimacy must go by 
the board if not sustained by some new and extraordinary 
means ; and this new and extraordinary means proves their 
leaders to Armageddon, the very place to which the "way ^ 
leads, for as soon as it is said, " that the way of the kings 
of the East might be prepared," it is further added, " and 
I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the 
mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, 
and out of the mouth of the false prophet or teacher." 

Now, " mark well," that the " three unclean spirits " are- 
all exactly alike — " like frogs," And coming " out of the 
mouths " shows them to be unclean doctrines, promulgated 
by three monarchical governments, and designed to supply 
the loss of their former supports or • waters." And these 
monarchies are designated, the first by " the dragon," the 
second by "the beast," and the third by the " false prophet " 
or false political teacher — that is, three particular nations, 
known in Scripture by these separate names. The first is 
the dragon, and known as such ; the second is the beast, 
and known as such ; and the third is the false prophet, and 
known as such. Their new doctrine or spirits of devils is 
one, though of tripartite parentage, all " like frogs," and, as 
such, unclean. Now the doctrines, or whatever " unclean " 
words of civil or ecclesiastical policy may be adopted by 
these three representatives and leading monarchies, is that — 
that is, called " the spirits of devils, working miracles 
which go forth unto the kings of the East, and of the whole 
world, to gather them unto the battle of that great day of 
God Almighty." Now, what three monarchies or " cen- 



SIXTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 161 

tralized " nations are indicated by the tripartites, dragon, 
beast and false prophet, we do not pretend to say at pres- 
ent. One thing, however, we will say, that whatever is to 
be " let loose " and used as an agency or means of foster- 
ing " centralism, " in overturning the second one-third of 
the "states' rights " civil polities, will be "dried up," or cease 
to be any longer effectual to " centralism ; " and that being 
so, "centralism " or monarchical principle will, by its three 
representative heads here called " dragon," " beast " and" 
" false prophet," give birth to some new and unclean 
" isms " or spirits of devils that will be almost miraculous, 
and will enable them to muster a more numerous or might- 
ier army for their cause than ever before, and shall thus 
embolden them or " gather them together " to measuie 
arms with Israel's hosts, " which no man can number," led 
on by the seven-horned Lamb, who stands in the midst of 
the " Chariot Throne." 

We now close our remarks upon the sixth Seal, Trumpet 
and Vial period, very soon to be ushered in to run its round,, 
leaving the armies of the devil — who at first en- 
tered this period, numbered as "two hundred thou 
sand thousand horsemen," — standing on the confines- 
of the same. What their numbers and strength will! 
be under this, their last and most desperate effort 
for the " divine rights of kings," and the " succes- 
sion of St. Peter," we know not. We will leave also the 
li armies of Israel," "which no man can number," confronting; 
tltem, on the " outgoings" of period six. We can scarcely 
breathe freely as we approach the closing of this vastly 
momentous period, since its ending is but the beginning of 
the most terrific and trying events that have ever yet visited 
this sin-cursed earth. The sixth period has the honor of 
mustering and marching to her confines the two largest 
armies that ever shook the earth beneath their tread, but it is. 
reserved for the seventh period to bring these armies into* 



162 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS, 

and carry them through the fiercest conflict of arms that 
earth will ever record. How long the trumpet may sound, 
and urge on the contending hosts, and how long the battle 
may rage under the fierceness of the vial wrath, we know 
not; but we know that the seventh period, as a whole, will 
be a short one as compared with its predecessors, for we 
esteem its length just the duration of the battle of that 
great day of God Almighty— for it is said, " in the days of 
the voice of the' seventh angel, when he shall begin to 
sound, the mystery of God should be finished " — and then 
such other necessary time for the return of the troops to 
their lands and homes, and to make such arrangements as 
shall be proper for the celebration of the advent of the one 
thousand years of millennial reign of peace, during which 
" the nations are to learn war no more ;" that is, the 
nations or states of God's dual Israel " shall learn w^r no 
more." What the other regions of earth may have to suf- 
fer in the shape of wars, we know not, but we shall have 
"peace throughout our borders." 



SEVENTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 163 



CHAPTER VIII. 

" THE SEVENTH SEAL OR THIRD AND LAST WOE." 

The seventh Sea/, Trumpet and Vial, constitute a trinity 
prophetic and historic of period No. 7. 

We now come to consider the seventh seal or last " woe" 
period which was to come, or " cometh quickly, " by 
which we do not understand that this third and last woe 
period was to be ushered in more suddenly than any of the 
preceding periods — by no means ; for each must succeed 
its predecessor at once. There can be no interim or hiatus 
in time. We understand that this third woe, or seventh 
seal period, was to be a short or " quick " period. Yes, 
we will say, very short. The other periods having occu- 
pied a good degree of time, the prophet informs us that this 
last one was to be short, or " quick," as compared with 
them. The opening door introduces us into this short, or 
" quick " apartment of time. Time was not quickened in 
its pace, but the space being short, it would " quickly pass 
away," and a new era dawn. And of such an awful char- 
acter were the sights seen and events foreseen, to be under 
this " quick " woe, seventh seal period, that when the door 
was opened that gave a view of them, " there was 
silence in heaven about the space of half an hour." 

, THE SEVENTH TRUMPET. 

Well may it have been said on the closing of the fourth 
trumpet, " woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of earth by 
reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three 



164 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIAL 

angels which are yet to sound." Silence profound reigns — 
painful silence — mute with awe for one half hour, reigns in 
the civil heavens on beholding the visitations of a righteous 
God about to be meted out upon the unsealed, unrobed and 
unpalmed nations of monarchy. But time heeds not this 
solemn silence and quickly numbers sixty seconds thirty 
times, when all this heaven is aroused by the pealing blast 
of the seventh Trumpeter which seems to shake the pil- 
lars of the vast universe. And then are heard " great voices 
in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become 
— are now to become — the kingdoms of our Lord and of 
his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the 
four and twenty elders which sat before God on their seats, 
fell upon their faces and worshiped God, saying, we give 
thee thanks, oh, Lord God Almighty, which art and wast, 
and art to come; because thou hast taken — are now about 
to take — to thee thy great powe; and hast — will — reigned. 
And the nations — not sealed, robed and palmed — were — 
— are — angry, and thy wrath is come and the time of the 
dead — witness or lives under the altar — that they should be 
judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy ser- 
vants, the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear 
thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them 
which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was 
opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the 
ark of the testament. And there were lightnings, and 
voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great 
hail." This needs no comment, only to remark that it was 
prophetic and awaits fulfillment ; so we shall hasten at once 
to the vial for fulfillment. 

THE SEVENTH VIAL. 

Now follows the executing vial of God's wrath, for the 
things above which appear to be done are not done, but 
only ordered on the part of the trumpeter to be done by 



SEVENTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VTAL. 165 

the executing vial. We willsee if the viaPs execution cor- 
responds with the order of the trumpet as above indicated. 
" Armageddon," announced at the close of the sixth vial, 
now conies in all its vengeful fury. Mark you, the sixth 
vial closes thus ; u And he gathered them together into a 
place called in the Hebrew tongue, Armageddon." And 
here, at "Armageddon," are they " gathered together " and 
left standing, by the sixth period ; and here are they found 
when the seventh seal is opened, and the sights, etc., strike 
heaven with mute and solemn silence for half an hour, 
which silence the seventh trumpet breaks, and stirs this 
mighty host to their utmost limits, by ordering and direct- 
ing the execution of the things proposed; and notifies us 
in advance of the execution of the vial, what the result was 
to be. " That the kingdoms of this world were to become 
the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ; and that he 
was to reign forever and ever ; " and that in executing or 
accomplishing the foregoing " there was to be lightnings, 
and voices, and th underlings, and an earthquake, and great 
hail." Now, let us introduce the executor of this order, 
and see how his actions correspond with the order. " And 
the seventh angel poured his vial " — executively — " into 
the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple of 
heaven, from the throne, saying : it is done." li Air," as a 
symbol, has no locality, and hence is not limited to any re- 
gion of earth in its signification. "Air" is universal. So 
here is a "universal" disturbance of the civil elements of 
the whole earth, " saying it is done," the last dregs set 
apart and apportioned into seven cups, is now exhausted or 
drained from the same. This last and most bitter cup is 
poured into the " universal air," setting its elemental com- 
ponent parts into fearful storms of strife. 

Now for the final onset of battle, resulting from the ele- 
mental wrath of the seventh vial. " Multitudes — multi- 
tudes in the valley of decision " (see Joel, chapter hi, 14th 



166 SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS, 

to 21st verses inclusive). Two multitudes are here in " the 
vale of Jehovalvjudgeth," rushing upon each other, led on 
respectively by the seven-horned Lamb in his wrath, and 
Abaddon from the bottomless pit. The earth quakes be- 
neath the contending hosts. " And there were voices, and 
thunderings, and lightnings; and there was a great earth- 
quake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so 
mighty an earthquake and so great." And what is the re- 
sult of this " great and mighty earthquake ? " Answer — 
" And the great city — Babylon or centralism- — was divided 
into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And 
great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give 
unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath." 
The further-developed result was " every island" — minor 
civil polities of Babylon or else the church polities — " fled 
away ; and the mountains " — civil polities or fragments — 
" were not found, and there fell upon men " — monarchies, 
unsealed men — " a great hail out of heaven, every stone 
about the weight of a talent, and— these monarchy — men 
blasphemed God, because of the plague of the hail, for the 
plague thereof was exceeding great." This last vial, or 
"cup," in its effects was poured out upon, or given unto 
the great city of Babylon or Euphrates, and its wrathful- 
ness was " fierce," for unto her was given " the cup of the 
wine of the fierceness of his wrath ; " and the hail ' was 
exceeding great " in its wrathfulness of plagues — stormed 
in its fury upon her. It was not hurled upon this Babylo- 
nian, Euphratean " multitude," in what would be called 
common-place "wrath;" but in "the fierceness of his- 
wrath." It was wrath intensified. Hence it is not simply 
said that the plagues or evils visited on monarchy's house 
was ; ' great," or * very great ; " but it surpassed or " ex- 
ceeded " ail such. It was " exceeding great; " hence more 
wrathful and fierce than anything visited upon earth. 
The " earthquake " exceeded anything in its line. "A 



SEVENTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 167 

great earthquake such as was not since men were upon 
earth, so mighty an earthquake and so great." And by 
it " Babylon was divided into three parts." She comes into 
the field a "unit," called a " multitude/' but she is soon 
riven into minor divisions called "islands and mountains," 
and then these are dispersed and cease to be. " They flee 
away " and are "not found" This is so like Daniel's de- 
scription of the same events, chapter ii, 34th and 35th verses, 
that we are constrained to refer to them. Here Nebuchad- 
nezzar's great monarchy image was smitten by the stone 
cut out of the mountain without hands, and this smiting 
" breaks the image in pieces," and then were these " broken 
to pieces together and become like the chaff of the summer 
threshing-floor, and the wind carried them away that no place 
was found for them; " but on the other hand " the stone that 
smote the image became a great mountain and filled the 
whole earth." Thus ends " Babylon," that first reared its 
rebellious head towards heaven on the banks of the 4i Eu- 
phrates." Her " four angels " are yet to be let loose upon 
or within the sun government with war forces, character- 
ized in the beginning by " 200,000,000 horsemen," fiercely 
vomiting " fire, smoke and bri stone," and with these she 
will succeed in killing the second one-third of the same, 
but the death is short and when they live again they will 
be sealed unto life and shall be subject unto death no more. 
And when we — all the states of Israel and the great multi- 
tude which no man can number — do arise, her day of final 
fall will be close at hand, even at the door. 

We next notice particularly the exact correspondence 
between the trumpet's announcements or executive order, 
and the vial's execution of the same. The trumj et says 
there was to be in execution or fulfillment, " lightnings 
and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and ex- 
ceeding great hail." The vial executes in "lightnings, and 
voices, and thunderings, and a great earthquake, and ex- 



1GS SEALS, TRUMPETS AND VIALS. 

eeeding great hail." Thus, the perfect coincidence or cor- 
respondence between the order of execution as sounded by 
the trumpet, and the execution of said order by the vial,, 
shows them as having direct reference to the very same 
time and events, and proves almost to a demonstration that 
we are correct in regarding the seals, trumpets and vials as. 
seven trinities, prophetic and historic, of times and events 
transpiring in the same. In conclusion, we notice the 
modern character of this " battle of that great day of God 
Almighty." 

The vial's rehearsal of the order was " voices," as of the 
commanders giving orders, or directing the movements of 
their various divisions and minor bodies of troops, and then 
the " thunderings " of the ordnance and roar of small 
arms, and " lightnings " — flashes of these roaring engines 
of death — and then the " great hail " of iron and leaden 
missiles, falling in dreadful fury upon the host of " Eu- 
phrates," for it was they who " blasphemed " the most 
high, on account of the plague of the hail, for the plague 
thereof was very great, and the whole of it constituting " a 
great earthquake." And is it so that this " great day," 
called, by way of distinguishing it from other great days, 
" that great day of God Almighty," is so close at hand > 
And is it so that we are so intimately and so largely con- 
cerned in " that great day " in its immediate actions and 
results ? And if so, are we prepared for it ? Or, if not r 
are we making the necessary preparation for its terrific re- 
alities. There are to be but two " multitudes in the valley 
of decision, ,, one led on by him that stands in the midst of 
" the Chariot Throne," who is there called a " Lamb; " but 
this Lamb becoming wrathful toward his enemies, he 
proves to them " the lion of. the tribe of Judah." The 
other " multitude " is led on by the Hebrew Abaddon, 
whom the Greeks call Apollyon. Now to which of these 
•civil " multitudes " do you belong? Are you a theocratic* 



SEVENTH SEAL, TRUMPET AND VIAL. 16$ 

democratic, republican, states* rights confederacy man ? If 
you are, you belong to the Lamb's "multitude." Or, are 
you for a " stronger " form, or a more centralized govern- 
ment ? If you are, put on your strongest " mail " and 
u steel " your face and brace your nerves, by whatever 
means you may be able, for be assured that the wrathful 
Lamb, now a fierce Lion, will pour " a great hail upon 
your leader's ranks, every stone of which will be of a tal- 
ent's weight, and its plague will be exceeding great/" 
So " go thy way and learn what this meaneth." 






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